


At Dawn

by whovianphangirl67



Series: Dawn and Dusk [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Blood and Violence, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Galra Keith (Voltron), Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, No Smut, Pining Keith (Voltron), Romance, Slow Burn, Violence, alien world, klance, lots of pining, something is up with lance too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2018-12-12 14:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 44,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11739225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whovianphangirl67/pseuds/whovianphangirl67
Summary: ~WARNING~ Mentions of injuries, violence, and possibly gory details ~In the midst of battle, Blue ejects Lance as the Lion takes a heavy blow. Lance is stranded on the Earth-like planet since Blue fell into a deep abyss. The paladins realize this is a battle that won't be won and decide to leave. But as they realize the blue lion is temporarily lost, they decide to leave Keith and Red to stay with Lance and look for Blue.Maybe the rivals can learn to be friends... Or perhaps more(Sorry for the terrible description and its cheesiness. This takes place sometime in season two after they find out Keith is Galra, but kinda goes off the plot at some point. Just consider it as more of an AU than by the plot.)PS. This is also on my account on Wattpad.





	1. Prologue - Down the Abyss

_I'll run in the rain till I'm breathless  
_

_When I'm breathless I'll run till I drop, hey  
_

_The thoughts of a fool's kind of careless  
_

_I'm just a fool waiting on the wrong block, oh yeah  
_

_Light of the love that I found..._

~

This planet reminded Lance so much of Earth that it almost hurt. No, scratch that it definitely hurt. The planet had similar plants and the air was composed of about the same ratio of oxygen and carbon dioxide. It was even raining. And it was water, too! He'd give anything to get out and stand in it.

Unfortunately, the paladins of Voltron were here on business. They had received a distress signal and decided to check it out. The Castle was stationed above the planet while the Lions were debarked to scout the planet. So far, there was no evidence of Galra inhabiting this planet or any kind of struggle.

"Hey Pidge, where did the signal come from?" Lance asked through the comms.

"Uh, just past the mountains up ahead. We should reach the place in a couple dobashes," Pidge replied with a puzzled tone. So, maybe Lance wasn't they only one who was confused.

"Everyone keep your eyes open and stay alert. We could be attacked at any moment," Shiro regarded.

The Black lion led while rest followed. The mountains were mostly white and gray with little vegetation, but the small amount of valleys held immense, coniferous trees. The whole planet appeared to have came right out of Twilight. Minus all of the sparkling vampires. Well, there was one.

"Hey Keith, we found your true homeland! Do you think your buddy Edward would be around?" Lance teased.

"Oh, nice one, Lance. Though, quite old," Hunk laughed. Keith stayed quiet on the comms. Lance could almost imagine his furrowed eyebrows, a perplexed frown, and his nose scrunched up in a cute- wait... totally irritating way. Most definitely not cute.

Surprisingly, Shiro retorted back with," What would that make you related to, Lance? Jacob... or  _Bella_?"

The joke didn't make much sense, but it was enough. Both Hunk and Pidge howled with laughter while Lance choked and stuttered, unable to make a comeback. Keith just mumbled," I don't understand any of this..."

The lions proceeded through the mountain pass. While everyone was occupied, that's when  _they_ attacked.

Lasers shot upwards. Galran aircrafts surrounded them. Blue, Yellow, and Black took direct hits.

"Scatter!" Shiro shouted. All five lions began to weave through the lasers and went indifferent directions. Lance managed to freeze a few, but the way he went was blocked by at least a dozen Galra aircrafts. He attempted to weave through and fight with Blue's claws, but was overwhelmed with substantial damage and Blue began to malfunction.

He pulled and pushed at the handles and pressed down the peddles, but nothing happened. Blue began to fall. Red lights began to flash.

"Come on, girl, we got this. Don't give up, we can do this," Lance spoke in a worried, hushed tone. The control board flickered on for second," Yes! Come on," he encouraged. Blue's descent slowed, but something was still off. Her essence felt almost... sad.

Next thing he knew, he was soaring through the air. Rain soaked him and hit him like bullets. Through the rain splattering on his helmet, Lance could see trees rushing towards him. He quickly engaged his jetpack. Branches scratched at him and broke away. He landed on the wet ground with a sickening thud. His back blossomed with pain, parts of his armor were torn away revealing several gashes. He probably broke a few ribs, too.

Lance forced himself to sit up and look around. A few yards away was a deep crevice. He crawled to the edge. He looked up to see Blue falling again, and this time, there was no stopping. The lion crashed against the other side of the crevice, spraying debris everywhere.

Lance screamed when Blue began to tumble down into the abyss. His pain seemed to worsen and he leaned backwards onto a tree. The rain seemed to be the only thing that was soothing. He looked up at the battle. More Galran ships seemed to have a appear. The other lions were still fine. Lance could hear commotion over the comms, but he couldn't hear that well over the sound of his blood rushing.

Suddenly, the lions began to fly in the same direction.  _Were... were they retreating?_ Lance thought.  _Would they leave and forget about me?_ Lance began to get extremely tired.

_I hope they make it out okay._ Lance smiled.  _They'd do better without me anyway._ Lance's eyes shut and he drifted off to a dreamless sleep.


	2. Seperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith stays behind to help Lance.

_This broken city sky like butane on my skin_   
_stolen from my eyes_   
_Hello Angel, tell me where are you_   
_Tell me where we go from here_

~

There were too many. Keith knew that instantly. More Galra appeared right when others were taken down. They seemed to have an inexhaustible source of Galran soldiers. He weaved Red through the Galra ships. Keith used the jaw blade to cut down any in his way. 

"What do we do, Shiro?" Keith asked," There are too many to fight. If they're fighting us here, they are probably attacking the castle as well."

"I will contact Allura, just... Just keep fighting," Shiro pressed and then his line went silent. 

A large laser blasted against Red's side, causing the lion to sustain considerable damage. Keith groaned as Red was sent flying sideways. He quickly corrected and dove to avoid further damage. He took in the surroundings. Keith just managed to catch a glimpse of Blue malfunctioning and beginning to drop.

"Lance!" Keith shouted. Lance did not reply," What did you do?" He would've at least said something snarky by then. The intercom wasn't working. Thankfully, Blue seemed to hover up again with yellow eyes flickering back on. Keith pulled Red back up to continue the fight. In the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something fly from Blue's mouth, but shrugged it off as a trick of the light.

He flown up in time to see a large weapon being prepped to fire directly towards the Yellow lion," Hunk! Pull up now!" 

The warning gave Hunk enough to move out of the way, well, mostly anyway. The beam clipped the back paws of the lion. Keith winced, the paws were steaming. "Thanks, Keith," Hunk groaned, probably on the verge of throwing up. 

"No problem." Keith continued to avoid getting blasted. Shiro's line remained silent though he still fought efficiently. The black paladin was quite talented. It was no wonder why every other paladin seemed to look up to him. The battle was exhausting and it felt like it lasted years before Shiro replied with new orders. It was probably just a minute until he came back onto the comms.

"We are going to retreat. According to Allura, the civilization that  _was_  here appears to have gone extinct. Which means-" Shiro was cut off by swerving Black to miss a large blast.

"This was just a trap," Pidge finished just as she blasted an aircraft causing a spontaneous growth of plants to wrap around it. 

"Yes. That and the Castle is under attack, too." Shiro sounded exasperated, " Let's start to head back."

The lions began to fight their way back to the Castle. Something seemed off. Besides the loud explosions, it was oddly quiet. Not that it was bad, but Keith found it uncomfortable. Something was missing. He realized he wasn't as irritated at the moment as he usually always was. No one else said anything or appeared bothered like he was.  _What's missing?_ Keith thought for a couple dobashes. He looked around. Yellow. Black. Green...

"Um, guys? Where's Lance?" Keith pointed out. Everyone was silent. "Lance?" Keith called out. He didn't answer.

"Well, shit."

"Pidge!" Shiro said in his dad voice.

"We need to look for Lance. Now isn't a time to bicker," Hunk stated, worry was evident in his voice. They had finally lost the Galra and were flying in the direction of the Castle.  

"I am not sorry, but I will do a quick scan for Blue and we should be set." Pidge went quiet and then Keith heard a groan.

"What's wrong?" Shiro asked.

"Blue isn't popping up which means the lion is either asleep, but I doubt it, or it sustained heavy damage and isn't working," Pidge quickly explained.As they passed another mountain, Keith spotted something.

"Hey, guys look." It was a large cave. They all agreed to land and figure something out. Keith landed Red gently. The engine's humming came to a stop. They all walked out of their lions and met in the center of the cave. 

"We should get to the Castle and help. They are being bombarded as we speak," Shiro reasoned as he took off his helmet.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think Lance could handle himself out there. We wouldn't be able to form Voltron help anyway," Keith exclaimed. 

"Maybe we could separate," Hunk suggested while gesturing with his hands.

"We will need all the help we can get at the Castle," Shiro pointed out. "We could only leave one other person here."

"I could do it. He's my best friend," Hunk insists raising his hand. 

"I don't think so, your lion is way to big to hide. It is also the lion that can take the most damage, we'll need that to protect the castle," Shiro explains and Hunk slowly lowers his hand. 

"Keith should do it," Pidge said with a smug grin. Keith didn't understand what she was implying. 

"Why? I am literally the worst person you could choose to be left alone with  _him_ ," Keith argued, crossing his arms.

"Actually, I think Pidge is right," Shiro said. Pidge grin widened and crossed her arms as well. Keith furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth to speak, but Shiro cut him off. "The Red and Green lions are the smallest and Pidge can't stay because... Um." Shiro looked to Pidge for help and they shared nonverbal conversation. Keith got the idea they were planning something. 

"I am needed to help sneak back to the Castle without leading the Galra down here back up there," Pidge explained with a strange glint in her eyes. 

"Okay," Keith said drawing out the "O" sound," So, I will stay and look for him and Blue."

"Alright, it's settled, then." Shiro clapped his hands. "Keep your comm on and we will tell you when we can come back." Keith simply nodded. The other three paladins got back in there lions and flew off. Keith sighed and clambered back into Red.

"Why me?" Keith asked aloud. Red replied with a purr. Keith's face flushed." Really? You, too?" He sat in the chair and grabbed the handles. They took off and flew close to the tree level. The rain seemed to finally lighten up a bit. He used a heat scanner built into his lion to search for Lance. Thankfully, he hadn't encountered any Galra, yet. He started to see the wreckage from the battle. A lot of things were hot enough to make the heat scanner useless, so Keith turned it off and instead went to the place he last remembered seeing Lance.  Blue was nowhere to be seen. So, he landed Red by the large crevice and decided to search for Lance by foot. 

Fortunately, it didn't take long. Keith noticed a large chunk that had been taken out of the side of the crevice and a tree that was barely hanging on.  He searching the damaged area, but found nothing. Keith ran back to Red and flew to the other edge of the abyss. He landed and quickly ran out to scour the area. He looked along the edge and...

It felt like his heart stopped and his breath was stolen from his lungs.

There he was. 

Lance slumped in front of a tree and was sitting in a puddle of what Keith hoped to be mostly rain and not blood. His left ankle was bent in a painful angle. Bloody gashes littered body. Parts of his armor were torn up and others were completely ripped off. Keith sprinted up to him and gently took off Lance's helmet to delicately cradled Lance's face in his hands. Lance felt cold and took shallow breaths. He examined the large gash across his right cheek. It was now crusty with dried blood that went down to his neck.

"Oh, Lance," Keith whispered, looking at his unconscious friend. He carefully picked up Lance. Despite his lanky looks, Keith was struggling to carry Lance, but somehow made it back to Red anyway. He placed Lance in the chair. He had no clue to as what to do then. So, he sat on the floor and decided to wait. After a while, he started to watch Lance's chest rise and fall with each breath he took. Keith wasn't sure why he was, but he did find it comforting.


	3. Opening Old Wounds

_Love when you can, cry when you have to,_  
_be who you must, that's a part of the plan._

 _Await your arrival with simple survival,  
and one day we'll all understand. _  

~

Lance's eyes fluttered open... and instantly shut. He instantly was overcome with a dull, throbbing pain from what it seemed to be every part of his body. Not to mention the painfully bright lights shining in his eyes. He reached up to cover his eyes and immediately his hands were pushed back down _._ Lance squinted in the harsh light and tried to look around. The place seemed familiar and strange all at once. The light kept moving to shine in his eyes. Then Lance realized the light was being held by a dark figure.

"I need to make sure you don't have a concussion, so keep your hands down," the dark figure ordered. Lance groaned. "Oh, come on! Yes it's me now get over it," Keith barked and turned off the flashlight. "Now, do you feel dizzy, nauseous, dazed, or do you have a headache?" Keith asked leaning back against the control board. Lance looked around and realized they were in the Red lion. The cockpit was lined with red lights and had darker lighting than Blue did.

"If I didn't before, I do now!" Lance spoke rubbing his face with his grimy hands and felt a large gash across his cheek.  _Great, now I will have an_ awesome _scar, too._ Keith just scoffed and shook his head. "Where's the others? And on top of that, why are we in Red and not the Castle?" Lance questioned. 

"Do you not remember anything from yesterday?" Keith asked. His indigo eyes were open wide and seemed... quite  _concerned._

"The last thing I remember was uh..." Lance didn't want to say the last last thing he remembered was the other paladins almost leaving him behind. "Blue... She fell down the abyss," Lance recalled and looked down at his feet to avoid getting caught with tears in his eyes. 

"I'm sorry. You must be feeling terrible," Keith spoke in a softened tone. Lance looked at Keith. He was scratching the back of his neck and was looking around at anywhere but at Lance. That's when Lance realized he didn't need to hide his tears, Keith understood what losing lion would've felt like. 

"Ah, I'm fine, but do you think we could fly down to her?" Lance asked with hopeful eyes. Keith pondered with his lips slightly pursed.

"I suppose we could, but maybe we should wait for the others to get back." Lance furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I forgot to say they left me behind to find and help you. They left to help defend the Castle. And while you were resting, they told me through the comms that they were going to go through a wormhole to lead the Galra away from us. They had suffered severe damage and needed supplies for repairing. So, we are stuck here on this planet until they get back or until we recover Blue," Keith spoke, covering his mouth with his hand as he yawned. As Lance's eyes were adjusting more to the light, he noticed the dark bags underneath Keith's eyes.

"Did you sleep any?" Lance asked, but it was obvious. Keith's movements were sluggish and he seemed merely irritated instead of being sulky and bitter like he usually was around Lance. Though, they have been getting along better lately. Now, Keith would usually roll his eyes at Lance's frivolous nonsense. The only times Keith would get  _really_  mad was when he'd make bad pick-up lines to Allura or other aliens. Lance had no clue what that was even about. 

"Not really, I had to make sure you wouldn't stop breathing or something," Keith stated and Lance gave his classic grin. He knew Keith knew exactly what was coming next by how Keith instantly crossed his arms.

"Aw, Keef!" Lance said, elongating the vowels," I didn't know you felt that way about me! You should've told me."

"Oh, shut up, Lance! And please, stop calling me that!" Keith groaned causing Lance to laugh, but his laughter ended quickly with pain. He winced and Keith gave him a worried look.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Lance waved Keith off. "Besides, I will  _not_  die without being kissed by some hot alien." Keith raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Lance attempted to stand but fell right back into the surprisingly comfy chair. He let out a sharp breath at the pain and looked down at his feet. He gasped at the terrifying angle his ankle was stuck in.

"Yeah, that's your worse injury. You're just lucky you didn't get stabbed by a branch," Keith pointed out, "If you want me to, I can try to reset it back. After all, it just appears to be closed fracture, if it is broken."

"Do you know how to?" Lance asked incredulously. 

"Well, I have seen shoulders being put back in place. Isn't that about that same thing?" Keith inquired.

"No! My ankle is probably completely broken. Not just dislocated," Lance answered and he looked back at his poor ankle. Next thing he noticed was all the blood he was covered in. He was mostly scratched with a few bad gashes, but the amount of blood was making it look worse. He must've looked terrified because Keith started to shuffle restlessly next to him.

"Does it all hurt that bad?" Lance looked up. Keith looked worried. His eyebrows were raised and his mouth was shut firmly. This confused Lance more than he already was. When Lance almost got blown up by the bomb. Keith hadn't acted this anxious at all. He almost asked, but caught himself. He couldn't let Keith know that he remembered that horrifying moment were he had indirectly stated he didn't mind Keith all while holding his hand for a way too long of a time.

"Kinda, yeah. Having a broken limb isn't fun. Especially when it is accompanied by hundreds of scratches and a good handful of deep, bloody gashes. So, yeah, I am in pain," Lance grumbled. He stretched his sore arms out, wincing at the pain of the armor rubbing against the irritated wounds. 

"We should clean them." Lance stared at Keith strangely. "You know, so they don't get infected."

"Ah, you want see me shirtless don't you?" Lance joked. Shockingly, Keith got red in the face.

"O-of course not, you idiot! Get infected and suffer more pain. I don't care!" Keith yelled while throwing his hands up. 

"Chill. I was just joking. My bad." Lance apologized. He could tell that had threw Keith off. Lance didn't usually apologize.

"Well... Then let's get your armor off. We will have to wash your clothes underneath the armor. I think there was water by a cave a while from here." Lance looked away and shifted uncomfortably in the seat. "You do wear clothes underneath your armor, right? Like a T-shirt? Shorts? Underwear?"

"Well, the under-suit absorbs most the sweat and it gets too hot with all the clothes-"

"Oh my God, Lance! That is disgusting!"

"Well, lucky for you, I decided to wear underwear  _and_  shorts this time."

"I thought you would've known better since you do so much skincare stuff!" Keith remarked. 

"Well, you thought wrong," Lance said, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Keith sighed and he just stared at Lance. Lance didn't know what to do so he stared back, raising one eyebrow. 

Keith walked up to Lance and gestured to his armor. So, Lance sat up and let Keith take off his armor as he just sat trying to make it easier and less painful. It was an awkwardly intimate moment. After a couple of dobashes, Lance's torso was bare and he quickly wrapped his arms around to cover himself. Then, Keith got to his knees and started to carefully remove the armor from Lance's legs. When it reached his broken ankle, Keith stopped. 

"How are we going to do this?" Keith questioned, looking up at Lance from the floor. The sight gave Lance many dirty thoughts, to which he instantly tried to forget. Lance looked at his foot and grimaced. 

"Carefully?" Lance suggested with a sheepish smile. Keith glared. "Look, I don't know. I've never broken any bones before."

"Well, I did a report on bone fractures back the Garrison, but it was years ago," Keith recalled. "Would you know, Red?" Lance watched Keith listen to Red. "Of course, not. Hold still." Keith quickly said.

"Wha- Ow!" Lance yelped in pain as Keith slipped the foot of the armor off. Next thing he knew, Keith's fingers were feeling around his ankle. 

"I don't feel anything broken, but it is swollen so much, I can't be sure. It may just be dislocated," Keith said further examining the injury. He pressed his thumb into Lance's ankle. Lance gasped and gripped onto the arm rests. "I am going to need you to lay on the floor and I am going to try something." Lance glared at Keith, but complied as easily as he could with his uniform dragging behind him. 

Keith placed one hand on the ankle and the other on the foot. He looked at Lance for confirmation. Lance nodded and squeezed his eyes shut.  _This was gonna hurt._ Once Keith started, the pain was so bad, Lance couldn't really remember much accept the loud popping of bones. 

"Lance." Keith said gently, "It's over. I am pretty sure it was just dislocated, but it might have some smaller fractures. The healing pod should handle that though." He said before going quiet. Lance opened his eyes to see Keith looking at Lance's chest. Or more exactly the scars that were there. Lance instinctively recovered them with his hands and sat up. "What happened?" Keith's eyes now were on Lance's.

"They're from the bomb," Lance quickly lied. 

"How? Your armor wasn't damaged there." Keith looked worried and confused. Lance considered lying again, but he knew the others would have found out eventually.

"Let's just say, I am not as perfect as I lead everyone on to believe." Keith's eyebrows knitted together.  _Why did he look cute when he worried about me?_ "I used to be picked on. Well, that's an understatement obviously," Lance said gesturing to his torso. "That's all I am saying. And don't ask why it happened. It's stupid anyway."

Keith looked like he wanted to say something, but pushed it aside. "We should make you a splint and we will go and find water for us both to clean up."

He stood up and walked out of Red with no further conversation. And for that, Lance couldn't have been more grateful.


	4. Free Falling

_So throw on the black dress, mix in with the lot_  
_You might wake up and notice you're someone you're not_  
 _If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see_  
 _You can find out firsthand what it's like to be me_

_~_

Keith felt awkward. He knew that he didn't know much about Lance, but the scars hit Keith  _hard_. How much did he not  _know_  about Lance? He pondered this thought as he picked up a small branch. He tested the sturdiness by slightly bending it. The wood snapped, spraying small pieces outwards. Sighing, Keith moved further into the forest. 

 _I mean, something really bad would've been revealed in the bonding exercises. Right?_ Keith picked up another stick, though this one was much larger. He tested it. The wood seemed a lot sturdier, though it had a rough texture.  _One piece down._ He continued searching for more pieces _._

Keith gathered a few more sticks that qualified and sat on the soggy ground to think a bit. He thought he at least knew  _who_ Lance was. Cocky Lance. Lance who was flirtatious and was attracted to hot  _girls_. The blue paladin who loved to make terrible jokes and push everyone of Keith's buttons. Lance who made everyone happy and contempt in any dark situation. Lance who was  _perfect._ He got along with anybody from anywhere. With anyone but...

Keith caught himself from going down that train of thought. Was he really about to go there? He quickly stood and began to look for a rope type material. 

...But maybe that wasn't all to him. There was more than what met the eye. Honestly, it kinda scared Keith. He thought back to all the times he saw Lance at the Garrison. He rarely ever saw him since he had been a cargo pilot at the time. The only thing he did remember vividly was the time he first saw Lance fly the simulator. 

-

He had left the commander's office to confirm his departure from the Garrison, but he decided to look around a bit before heading to the dorms to begin packing. Though, it wasn't allowed to roam, he decided to take the risk. He carefully walked down a corridor and saw a rather large crowd gathered around the flying simulator. Though he was no longer a cadet, he was still wearing the uniform so he blended in nicely with the crowd. He glanced around for the supervisor anxiously. He sighed with relief when he noticed it was the old man who was always napping.

Keith looked at the screens to observe and was horrified. This was his replacement and he couldn't even fly! To be fair, it wasn't the worst he had seen, but it was definitely not the best. He had already lost one engine and another one was failing. It all ended quickly as the engineer thew up on the control board, causing the software to malfunction. Of course, the simulation was a failure, but it was miracle they had lasted for as long as they did. 

The pilot sauntered out and revealed no one other than Lance McClain. He had a lopsided smirk plastered to his face. It didn't make any sense. He had failed, yet he seemed ecstatic. After the simulator was failed and the supervisor didn't appear to wake up, the cadets began to leave to take advantage of the free time.

"That was amazing, Hunk! I am so pumped to do it again," Lance said, placing a hand out to help his green-faced friend. 

"We crashed," said an unfamiliar cadet. They had glasses and short, light-brown hair. Frankly, Keith couldn't tell the gender so he stuck with gender neutral terms. 

"But we flew," Lance said with a dreamy look in his eyes and a gentle smile. Keith couldn't help, but smile too. He had remembered what it felt like to start out as a fighter pilot. Unfortunately, the happy moments faded as he got used to the position. 

"I wouldn't call that flying," Someone snickered in the now small and dissipating crowd. Lance jolted out of his daydream and suddenly, his tan face appeared to pale. It made Keith mad and he instantly began to look around for the rude cadet, but Hunk ended things quickly.

"I agree. Puking definitely ruined the moment," he added and Lance fell back into his normal demeanor. 

"Hunk, my friend, just think about next time," he said throwing an arm around Hunk's broad shoulders and stretched the other out as if to paint the idea into real life. 

"I really don't want to," Hunk groaned. The small cadet adjusted their glasses and turned to look at the supervisor. 

"Um, guys. What do we do about him?" they asked while leaning in to inspect the folder the old man was holding.

Lance laughed and opened his mouth to say something, but as he turned toward them, his gaze landed on Keith. His mouth remained partially opened and his eyes slightly widened. Keith quickly turned back around and began heading to the dorms. 

-

Keith smiled at the memory. It seemed so long since they left Earth. He still didn't understand why Lance had reacted that way or why he had even looked at him in the first place. The only reason he had known Lance was stories spread around by the cadets. Sure, Keith was good at piloting, but that surely wasn't enough for that kind of reaction.  _I guess Lance has always left me confused._

A drop of rain splattered against Keith's shoulder. He pulled a stringy plant from the ground and grabbed some long, thick leaves and hoped it was enough. He sprinted back to Red and walked in, setting the supplies in a small concave area of the counter by the entrance. Lance was still sitting in the same place on the floor. Still shirtless, but this time, he wasn't bothering to cover the scars. His face was very solemn and he didn't bother to look up at Keith.

"Hey," Lance said in an emotionless voice. Keith made his mind up. There was no way he'd force Lance to tell the story behind the scars. Instead, he began to take off his own armor. It certainly threw Lance off. "Whoa, I don't think now is a good time t-"

"Lance?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." Keith took all the armor waist up off and then pulled the black T-shirt over his head and tossed it to Lance. He caught it, but continued to stare at Keith in a way that Keith definitely did not understand. "Put it on."

Lance complied and pulled it on while Keith pulled his armor back on. Now, he sat on the floor in a black T-shirt and navy blue shorts. "Not to be rude, but navy blue and black do not go together when they're on different articles of clothing." Keith glared and Lance put his hands up in a "sorry, but it's true" gesture. 

"Sit tightly, but I am going to fly to a cave nearby so we can clean your wounds," Keith commanded and sat in the chair. Red's engines purred to life and Keith could feel the lion's essence thrumming beneath his fingertips. He pulled on the levers and they took off. He kept low and weaved through the mountains. He piloted Red gently, to keep Lance from sliding all around, until finding the cave. He landed Red smoothly and the lion settled back into a resting mode.

He stood up and turned around to look at Lance. He looked melancholy and Keith knew exactly why. If he lost Red, he'd be upset and wouldn't have been as calm as Lance was. 

"You ready?" Keith asked and Lance looked up.

"How am I getting out?" He questioned with a confused look. Keith smirked and Lance began to look terrified.

"The same way you got in." Keith got a burst of adrenaline and managed to get Lance over his shoulder without hurting his injuries and began to walk out of Red. He grabbed a rag he used to wipe off sweat and continued out. He could feel Red mentally shaking her head at the ridiculous situation. Lance was laughing and was hitting Keith's back jokingly. 

"There is no way you did this getting me in. I was still bleeding and it would've gotten on your back."

"So?"

"You wouldn't have cleaned it off," Lance pointed out. 

"What makes you think that?" Keith asked.

"'Cause you have mud on your butt!" Keith flushed and quickly set Lance down next to a large puddle in the cave. 

"You're looking at my butt!" Now it was Lance's turn to turn red. 

"Well, it's very dirty and it made it hard not to notice," Lance said, turning away from Keith. 

"Pushing this aside, we need to clean your wounds." Lance's head whipped back to face me.

"We?" He asked looking at Keith like he was crazy.

"You won't be able to reach every single one of them," Keith pointed out. Lance groaned and Keith smirked at his small victory. "Alright, let's up and we can make our way downwards."

"That's dirty," Lance said smirking. Keith glared, but he was inwardly happy that Lance was feeling better. Keith dipped the rag into the clear water. He rung it out to rinse out as much old sweat as he could. He felt bad, but it was all they really had. He dipped it back in and turned back to Lance.

"Lean forward." And Lance did. He cupped Lance's left cheek with his hand and dabbed at the crusty blood coating the gash on his right cheek. Lance winced and Keith uttered an apology. Lance looked around the cave. Keith dipped the cloth back into the water. He continued to wipe the blood off Lance's neck, which was surprisingly difficult. Each time Keith would go to touch his neck, Lance would jerk back. 

"Stop it!"

"It's not my fault my neck is sensitive." Keith wiped the last of the blood off his neck. 

"Do you want to get your chest? I can clean you back after you're done," Keith suggested and Lance's nodded. He pulled the shirt off and Keith stood up and walked back into the Red lion. He grabbed the sticks and the plant.

When he walked back, Lance was halfway done since there were less cuts on his chest, but he was having trouble with one just above his hip. It appeared to have needles from the trees stuck in it. He was laying on his back. Keith leaned over him and began to pull out needles. Lance groaned, but it was quickly over. Keith worked efficiently to clean the rest of the wounds on his stomach and back. He examined the rest of Lance's body. 

Most of the cuts and gashes were on the top of Lance's body. Only a few were on Lance's legs, so Keith just wiped over them, careful to not move Lance's left ankle. Now all that was left was to make a splint for Lance's ankle.

Keith placed the wooden sticks on either side of Lance's lower leg. He tied and wrapped up the splint with the supplies. He made sure Lance's leg was immobilized from the foot and up to the knee. 

"I hope that's good enough," Keith muttered, standing up to help Lance stand. "Don't put too much pressure on it," Keith said as Lance stood resting most of his weight on one foot. "Crap, I should've gotten a branch for a crutch!" Keith groaned, smacking his forehead.

"It's fine, Keith. You can be my crutch for now. How does that sound?" Lance asked.

"Fine." Lance draped his arm over Keith's shoulders and Keith wrapped his arm around Lance's waist. They slowly made their way back to Red. 

Keith let Lance sit back onto Red's chair. "I'm going to get a drink. Do you want one?" Lance waved him off. He walked back out again to drink some of the water from the puddle. He cupped his hands and brought the water to his mouth to drink. 

It happened so quickly, he almost missed it. But a small tremor vibrated in the mountain, causing the water to ripple. He jolted back into Red. 

"We need to go now!" Keith quickly got Lance out of the chair and he stood behind the chair. He jumped into the seat and Red took off. 

"What's happening?" Lance asked, grabbing onto the chair to keep himself steady.

"I am not sure, but the mountain moved."

"It moved? Seriously, Keith? Maybe you're just tired and hallucinated," he suggested.

"No, I am sure it happened." And sure enough the land all around them was rumbling. Next thing they knew, the mouth of the cave was closed off by rocks from an avalanche caused by the earthquake. 

"Whoa, we're lucky we weren't in there," Lance chuckled.

"Yeah," Keith said

"Uh oh," Lance noted.

"What?"

"You always sound like that when you're suspicious of something."

"Well, look around. Nowhere else was really affected except there. And it just so happened to have closed up the cave that we were in," Keith pointed out.

"If people did it, they had more than enough time to do it."

"Unless it takes time to make it happen," Keith acknowledged as the flew back down into the forest next to the abyss. 

"I guess it makes sense, but where are all these  _people_?" Lance asked. That made Keith stop and think.  _Didn't Shiro say Allura had come to the conclusion the earlier species had gone extinct? Unless they began to work for the Galra and hid to give us the false assumption._ The thought caused Keith to feel dizzy. So, dizzy that he started to slump forward and his eyes were failing to remain open.

"Whoa, Keith? Buddy? Are you okay?" Lance's voice seemed so distant and sounded like it was underwater.  _I'm so tired, let me sleep._ Keith knew it was exhaustion and all he wanted to do was faint. "Did you hear that? I think it's Blue!" Lance began to limp out of Red. Keith frowned as he heard nothing, but jerked back awake out of fear. The water! If these people had control of the mountains, who knew what was in the water. 

"Lance, don't go!" Keith slurred as loudly as he could and he stumbled out of Red. Lance was hobbling to the edge and shouting something about Blue. Then he saw Lance slip and that was enough to make him stronger.

"No!" Keith dove and caught Lance's arm, but Lance was now hanging off the side of the cliff. Lance looked at Keith with both fear and anger. 

"Let me get to Blue!" He said, but Keith could see Lance knew something was wrong, but the effects of the water was too strong. Keith tried to pull Lance back up, but his body was still at the brink of exhaustion. It didn't help that Lance was trying to wiggle out of Keith's grip.

His struggles were for nothing, because the earth beneath him began to crumble, sending both Lance and Keith falling to their doom.


	5. Dreams

_You belong among the wildflowers_   
_You belong in a boat out at sea_   
_You belong with your love on your arm_   
_You belong somewhere you feel free_

~

Air was rushing past his face and his eyes were watering. Lance was terrified. He didn't know what happened to him. First, he saw Keith starting to pass out from sleep deprivation, and that had scared Lance. Then next thing he knew, Lance didn't care at all. It felt as if he was riding in the backseat of his own mind. He had heard Blue roar and instantly he began to run for the edge. If he hadn't slipped, he was sure he would've just jumped right off the edge. But no, he failed the simplest of tasks and now Keith would also have to pay the price. 

He looked at Keith, who was a few feet above and to the right of him. His back faced Lance, but he knew Keith was asleep by his stillness. At least he wouldn't feel the impact. If there ever  _was_  one. 

They had been falling for quite some time, yet no landing had occurred. Lance managed to turn around to face the bottom, but there was only darkness below. Above them the light was getting thinner, so they were indeed falling, but to where, Lance didn't know. 

Suddenly, it felt as if Lance had passed through a layer of Jello and it was having some strange effects. It felt as if they were falling slower than before and the air was getting cooler. Then another passed. Then several others at a constant pace. They made Lance feel drowsy and a bit nauseous. The last and final layer was the worst one. They were finally on some surface, but not a scratch was upon them. Still, Lance felt terrible.

He threw up the remaining food in his stomach along with some stomach acid. His nose and throat burned, but he still gagged. Apparently, his stomach hadn't gotten the memo that it was empty. Once the spell ended, he coughed and it felt like nails ripping his throat open. He looked around with his teary eyes and could make out strange figures circling around them. Lance then realized he could hear their whispers.

"Nothing can make it through the last barrier awake!"

"Well, one thing can..."

"But they're gone!"

"He doesn't even look like one!"

"Unless, some escaped and... Ugh, mated." 

"Wait, he's listening!" Lance suddenly wished that he still had his bayard, but remained in Blue. They all went quiet and started to shuffle around. That's when something knocked Lance in the back of the head. He fell to the ground next to Keith and prayed nothing would happen to them. Another blow caused his vision to fade to black.

-

_Rain splattered across his face. Lance stretched his arms wide to feel the rain as much as he could. He spun around, laughing as his injuries had vanished. He was in a field of forget-me-nots and red tulips. He was back at Earth, but it didn't feel complete, as if something was missing. Then again, nothing is never really perfect, so he shrugged away the feeling._

_He saw someone in the distance and smiled. At least he wasn't here alone. He marched down the small hill and sat down next to his best rival._

_"What's up, Mullet?" Lance teased while propping himself up on his hands. Keith looked over and gave Lance his best bitch-face. It made Lance grin even more. "Come on, you gotta love me."_

_"No, not really. I just have to tolerate you," Keith retorted, looking away and into the distance at a small village._

_"So, what are you really doing here? You know, besides being emo by sitting in a field of flowers in the rain... Do I really have to continue explaining?" Keith gave single hmpf and rolled his eyes._

_"I'm not that sure. Why are you here?" Keith asked looking back at Lance with raised eyebrows._

_"I-uh..." Lance paused. Why am I here? When did I get here? How? "I really don't know," Lance realized out loud. Keith snorted and shook his head._

_"You're such an idiot," Keith said while laying back onto the ground. He closed his eyes and sighed. Rain ran down the sides of his face and Lance couldn't stop staring. He wasn't really sure why, but something about this made things feel a lot better. Lance didn't know what it is was, but he didn't want it to end. And of course, it ended._

- 

It was a short dream and it ended with someone shaking him awake. He tried to open his eyes, but the room was bright. His head throbbed and he tried to collect his memories, but the last thing he could remember was landing on the ground. After that was foggy. 

"Lance!" An annoyingly familiar voice whispered urgently. Lance forced his eyes open. He was sitting in a white double cot, he looked down to inspect his body. The old splint on his left leg had been replaced with a way better one. All of his major cuts were bandaged. He was now clothed with silky, black pants and a long-sleeved, navy shirt. The ensemble was quite loose in fit. 

"What is it with aliens and mixing black and blue together?" Lance groaned and looked at Keith who was kneeling on the bed. Keith glared at him in return. Lance examined Keith's clothing. His deep purple pants were  _way_  shorter and tighter than his pants. He also had a white tank top with a sleeveless, purple cardigan over it. He even had a necklace with a strange, black stone that Lance had never seen before. But his eyes went right back to the shorts. Lance had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing. 

"Don't even start," Keith warned in a low voice and the necklace changed to a red color. 

"Ah, nice booty shorts," Lance blurted out before he could stop himself. He expected Keith to deck him in the face, but instead Keith grabbed his shirt and pulled him close. So close that Lance could feel Keith's warm breath against his face. Lance's mind short-circuited and his ability to speak was gone out the window. All he could do was stare with wide eyes and listen.

"We need to find Blue and get out of here!" Keith whispered with a low voice. The stone turned back to black. "I don't like these people, they seem too nice. Now, will you please listen to me for once?" He stared at Lance. After a while, it finally registered to Lance that Keith wanted an answer. He nodded his head and stayed silent. He didn't trust himself to speak at that particular moment. 

Before anything could happen, someone walked into the room. The alien was short with a thin frame. Their skin was gray and they had a head covered with tentacle-like hair. Not to mention they had four arms, but otherwise were strangely human-like. Strangely, Lance felt like he had seen something like them before.

"I am sorry. I have come at a bad time, but welcome to Zryraz," the alien said with an deep voice and wide eyes. They began to hurry out.

"No, no! It's a good time." The alien stalked back in and Keith moved away from Lance. "What's your name? I am Lance." Apparently, that was a bad thing to say because the alien blushed and ran right out. He looked at Keith. He just shrugged. So, Lance decided to examine the room. His clothes and Keith's armor were sitting on a table. The room was bright. Everything was covered with a white material or was made of steel. It reminded him of a hospital and he cringed. He hated them. He continued looking around until he noticed something. There was only one bed. 

"Um, Keith?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you stay in here, too?" Lance looked at Keith. His face reddened and nodded, the necklace he was wearing turned red again. Lance realized it must be a real mood stone that revealed true emotions. "Cool, at least we're not separated and can make a plan without having to sneak off to meet." Lance said, hoping to settle the awkwardness between them. 

It worked and the mood stone changed back to the black color. Keith let out a sigh and nodded, "You're right, it does make it easier." 

"So, what do we do now?" Lance asked, hoping Keith had actually made a plan. Lance saw the look on Keith's face and knew the answer before it left Keith's mouth.

"I don't know," Keith confessed. "But we could always start by leaving this room. If they didn't lock the door, then it isn't our fault if we think we are allowed to roam. They even left a crutch for you." He gestured next to the bed. Sure enough, there was a crutch made of dark wood leaning against the side of the bed. He scooted to the edge of the bed, but he couldn't stand.

"Could you help, maybe?" Lance asked and Keith helped him up. He placed the crutch under his arm and walked to the door. Keith opened the door and looked out. He then stepped out and gestured Lance to follow. Lance stepped out and looked around. 

The hall was empty. Keith carried on and Lance hobbled a few feet behind. They turned down the corner and a few of what Lance now called Zryrazians walking down. Keith and Lance continued down the hall. The Zryrazians stared, but did nothing to stop them. So, they continued on aimlessly walking. When Lance finally managed to catch up to Keith, he decided to ask a question.

"So, what are we really doing?"

"Uh, food is really my first priority right now, so a cafeteria would be nice." 

"Me too, man," Lance agreed. He then walked up to a Zryrazian. He could practically feel Keith's glare burning a hole through him. "Could you point us into the direction of food?" Lance asked with his best smile. The Zryrazian stared, his mouth pressed in a firm frown. "Please?" Lance quickly added. The guy sighed and pointed down the hall in the opposite direction they had been going while giving brief directions. "Thanks," Lance spoke turning around to smile at Keith. 

Keith just rolled his eyes and started walking faster than he had before. "That is rude, you know. I can barely walk!" Lance complained while he struggled to keep up. Keith exhaled sharply and slowed down.

"Better?" He asked with a low voice. Lance just nodded. They continued on in silence. Lance looked around and took in the place. All the architecture seemed awfully familiar and it gave off feelings that didn't bode well with Lance. The walls were extremely detailed with a deep red and purple swirling throughout it all. The lights were the strangest of it all. They were pale blue and floated in the air. They didn't seem to be attached to anything, like they powered themselves. Lance couldn't figure what type of technology it was, but it felt like he  _knew_  it. 

"Do you think this is it?" Keith's question pulled Lance back into the real world. He looked at the door. It really didn't seemed like a door to a cafeteria. Lance shrugged and knocked on the door. They waited awhile before the doors were opened and the room was revealed. It was  _not_ a cafeteria. 

As they walked further in, Lance examined the room. A deep red carpet led to the throne. It was a throne room and an unsettling one at that. The throne itself was terrifying. It was made of a pure white stone, but a deep blue liquid flowed through its cracks. Lance wasn't sure why, but it made him feel sick. In the throne itself sat a tall, female Zryrazian. She wore a large silver crown that had one of the strange lights captured in glass and she was wrapped in a silky, white cloth. She smiled at them with her needle teeth showing.

"I am glad to see our guests found their way," She spoke in a melodic voice. "I am the Queen and that is all you need to call me. Names around here are quite... intimate. Anyway, I apologize for the troubles you have both endured on this planet. We merely an endangered species hunted by the Galra and have gone into hiding for preservation. We mean you no harm. In fact, it is quite the opposite. We would love to accommodate you while you rest and heal." She raised a hand and two Zryrazians carried a tray holding some strange food. 

Lance looked at Keith and he didn't look that convinced either. The Queen must have sensed their uneasiness because she quickly added, "I can't have that kind of food, but my servants can test it for you if that would settle your suspicions." Lance decided to take the risk.

"Don't worry about it. I'll trust you," Lance stated and Keith stared at him incredulously.  _They have no reason to kill us now._ He repeated the thought in his head. The Queen smiled as Lance picked up the food. It was a soft, black ball. It felt like a peach, but it the color made Lance nervous. He took a small bite. He chewed it once and almost moaned. Keith gave him a worried look. 

"Well, what do you think?" The Queen asked with an even larger smile. Lance didn't want to answer. He just wanted to continue eating, but decided against it.

"I- uh- How did you make this? It tastes exactly like the pie my dad use to make!" Lance exclaimed, taking another bite. 

"It is bio-engineered to connect with your brain waves to taste like the food you miss the most. My scientists are quite talented, aren't they?" She looked over at Keith. "Dear, why don't you try it?" 

Keith picked up one and inspected it awhile before biting into it. He raises his eyebrows in surprise and took another bite. 

"What does it taste like to you?" Lance asked with his cheeks stuffed. 

"Popcorn," Keith said chuckling. "I didn't think that's what I missed the most."

The Queen smiled and raised her hand again. The servants brought them a bag. "You can take some back to your room. You both need rest, so why don't you go. I am sure we can arrange a meeting for tomorrow."

Lance and Keith nodded and were lead back to their room by a servant. When they got there, Lance realized the servant was the same alien from earlier. Keith walked into their room, but Lance decided to apologize.

"Hey, I am sorry about earlier. I didn't know names were like that around here." The guy gave a small smile. 

"It's okay. I am Marf." The Zryrazian blushed a dark blue and ran away before Lance could say anything. Lance walked into the room and the door closed behind him. Keith was sitting on the bed messing with the white cover. 

"How much of that did you hear?" Lance asked. Keith looked up. The necklace swirled to a green color. 

"All of it," Keith admitted, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. 

"I think he likes me!" Lance exclaimed. Keith mumbled something under his breath. "What was that?" Lance asked. Keith glared. "Aw, is someone jealous?" Lance teased. Keith's face went red and he stood up in front of Lance. 

"Why would someone like me like you?" Keith fumed. "You are annoying! On  _every_  possible level! You push all my buttons! You make everything a competition so you can prove you can beat me in anything! You throw yourself at any hot girl you see despite the fact you get hurt every single time in some sort of way! You never listen to me! You tease me all the time! Yet, you never notice me and think maybe I could do better for you than any other girl out there!" Keith suddenly stopped and turned even more red than he was before. The necklace swirled to a pink color. Lance couldn't believe what he heard. 

"You... You like  _me_?" Lance could barely breathe. He could barely grasp the situation. Keith looked conflicted. Then he grabbed his bayard from his armor and went out the door. And Lance didn't try to  stop him.


	6. Twisted

_I wanna hide the truth_   
_I wanna shelter you_   
_But with the beast inside_   
_There's nowhere we can hide_

~

Keith wanted to get as far away as he could. His legs trembled from his lack of sleep, but Keith didn't care.  _How could I have be so stupid? I should have kept my mouth shut._ He clenched his fists tightly when he thought of how he felt for Lance. Out of all people, Lance was the last person he thought he'd fall for. Yet, his heart betrayed him. Keith didn't even know he felt that way about him until it was coming out of his own mouth. 

He stomped aimlessly through the halls. Strangely, he didn't see anyone. Once he realized it, he stopped to look around.  _Maybe they're all sleeping._ But then Keith saw something move in the corner of his eye. He just barely caught one of the Zryrazians dart through a door at the end of the corridor. 

"Hello?" Keith called. He thought of going back to get Lance, but decided against it. There was no way he'd talk to Lance without figuring out his mind first. He slowly made his way down the hall. He realized it was the throne room. He stopped.  _Maybe I shouldn't bother them._ At that moment, he heard a strange sound. It was like a grunt but muffled. Keith peeked into the room, through the crack in the door.

_Oh... quiznak..._

The scene was gruesome. The Queen had a triangular, silver blade and she sliced the chest of one of the servants. Blue liquid gushed from the cut. It was the same liquid that flowed through the cracks in the throne. The Queen raised her hand and the blood weaved through the air and made its way to the throne. 

Keith activated his bayard silently. He was about to go in when a hand pulled him back. A hand slapped over his mouth and pressed him silently to the wall by the door. 

It was Marf. He mouthed, "Too late, understand?" Keith nodded and Marf removed his hand from Keith's mouth. Keith instantly went to look again. The Queen had her hand placed on the servant's chest. She pulled it back and as she did, a pale blue light flowed from the cut. The light was placed in a box.

"It can be brought in now," the Queen declared. None of the servants in the room moved. Keith furrowed his eyebrows. The Queen turned and looked straight at Keith. She waved with a blue stained hand and smiled. "The ceremony is done.  _It_ can't do nothing about it."

Keith was pushed in. He turned to Marf, to look at him with wide eyes. His shyness and all emotion from before was gone and replaced with a cold expression. The Queen smile grew wider.

"What can I do for you?" She wiped her hand off on a cloth. Keith swung his bayard at her, but before he could, the servants blocked with their own weapons.

"What have you done to them?" Keith yelled. He battled with the Zryrazians. 

"Nothing," she declared, "They just know how to be loyal to their queen. Hold him back!" 

The servant to the left swiftly disarmed Keith and Marf and the other servant restrained him. Keith struggled but their grip was firm. The Queen sauntered towards Keith. She leaned in close to his face, as if to examine his features. 

"Pity. It is as I presumed... It's part Galra. That is why the water had no effects. The drowsiness was purely of its own fault." The Queen pulled away looking disappointed. "Not much of our technology will affect its mind. One of the cons of being allies with that inferior race."

"So, you are with the Galra," Keith spat with venom. 

"Naturally," The Queen confirmed, "Mostly for our own survival. And because of the stupid decision my husband made, we are now  _their_   _slaves._ Imagine a highly respected race now diminished to  _this._ " She gestured to the room. "We now have to run off of our  _own_ quintessence. It's vile!" 

"Why are you still with them? With your technology, you could ally with Voltron and help with the fight against the Galra!" Keith reasoned. The Queen simply laughed and examined Keith.

"We don't have any useful technology against them! And Voltron!? That ghastly thing is our #1 enemy. They abandoned us long ago and for that we will never forgive that obliterated race."

"If we are your enemy, why didn't you kill us when you got the chance?" Keith asked, he attempted to yank himself free, but only gained a tighter hold.

"Well, you boys are new. Am I wrong? You possibly couldn't understand or be responsible as I thought you both came from a different, untroubled planet. Though recent information proves you both are both equally involved. You are Galra. He is spawn of a traitor."

Keith furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. How was Lance's parents traitors to them? The Queen caught his confusion and laughed again. It sounded like breaking glass.

"He didn't tell any of you?" Then, realization passed over her features. "Unless, he doesn't even know! How delightful!" The Queen clapped her hands. "I must speak with him."

"No!" Keith yelled. The Queen looked closely at him and then at the item strung around his neck. She smirked. 

"Ah, that trinket is always useful. You care for that boy, don't you?" Marf maneuvered to whisper in her ear. "Oh, really?" She seemed pleased at the news.  "This should be fun. It's been awhile since we played a game." She thought for a moment, but seemed to have an epiphany. "Katam, please get me the special fruit we served earlier. I'd like to make some adjustments." She spoke with a terrifying look upon her face.

-

After waiting for what seemed like hours, the Queen examined the altered fruit. "This should be good enough." She turned to Keith, who they had chained to a chair. "Hungry?" 

Keith pressed his mouth firm. He then began to wonder why Lance hadn't bothered to look for him. Keith squeezed his fists and shakily breathed at the thought that Lance was disgusted at the thought that Keith liked him. But internally, Keith was a bit happy at the thought. It meant that maybe Lance wouldn't get hurt if he didn't look for him. 

Meanwhile, they Queen was examining the necklace around his neck. "Strange what love can do to a person's mind," She remarked. "I will never grasp the full extent of its effects." She stared at Keith with curious, longing eyes. "But of course, we will not stoop to the weak emotion." She raised a hand and gestured to the nearest servant. They grasped the fruit from the Queen and turned to Keith. 

"Now, since your Galra genes protect you from most of our technology, we had to work with primitive techniques. The fruit worked with your human mind, so we may be able to alter your form. One we can test and further develop our technology. We even have an excuse for your friend so he won't go searching for you. Besides, he should be thoroughly distracted," She glanced at Marf. She straightened up, and gestured her hand as she turned and left the room. 

Keith glared at the servant and pressed his lips tightly shut. The servants worked to pry he mouth open. Keith turned and shook his head in every which way. It took a lot of work, but the fruit was pushed into his mouth. He didn't want to swallow, but the pinched his nose. He tried to hold his breath as long as he could, but eventually he gasped for air and the fruit made its way down his throat. Keith gasped and coughed, but it was too late. 

He could already feel the effects taking place. Pain shot throughout his whole body. His bones ached and popped. His ears grew longer and his hearing was heightened. His skin turned purple and fur sprouted. His teeth sharpened. Everything burned. 

Thankfully, it ended as quickly as it began. He groaned and struggled. The chains had broken during the transformation, but all Keith did was fall to the floor and sob. He was  _monster_. 


	7. A Road to the Past

_Cause it's a long road to wisdom_   
_But it's a short one_   
_To being ignored_

~

Lance paced back and forth throughout the room. He wanted to follow Keith, but he didn't want anger him any further. He felt stupid.  _I should have said something before he left._ He hoped these people were truly as peaceful as they seemed, but Lance couldn't shake the uneasy feeling. He felt as if he had heard of them before. 

Lance sat on the bed and hoped Keith would come back already. He glanced at Keith's armor on the table. He frowned and picked up the helmet. It wasn't dirty at all.  _The aliens must've cleaned it_. But something caught Lance's eye. The communication device built into the helmet was completely destroyed. It definitely wasn't like that when they fell. 

When they fell...

Lance had only recollected some memories from his drugged daze. He figured something was going on here, but honestly, Lance began to feel too tired to care. The rest of the team could probably find them before something too bad could happen anyway. Keith was really strong and experienced as well.  _They'd never be able to crack him,_ Lance thought to himself as he settled into the large, soft bed. 

Lance hated to admit it, but Keith was better than him. It was why he was Shiro's favorite. All that Lance could do better than Keith was probably just making a fool of himself. It completely threw him off when Keith said he supposedly liked Lance.  _What is there to like about me?_

Lance thought about himself. He couldn't really see much. He was just a dime-a-dozen type of guy. Lance had good looks, he supposed, but his personality wasn't that original. Lance was a flirty, idiotic guy who probably came off as annoying more than anything else. Lance didn't mind it all that much though. He had friends who cared about him and that was all that mattered. Lance didn't mind the way he was most of the time. He had reasons for being the way he was.

-

Scars. This was definitely going to leave scars this time. A kick sent him sprawling along the gravel. The rocks bit sharply into his back and legs. His left arm was scraped harshly, blood beaded along the cuts. 

The sight of it shocked Lance. Normally, they just aimed for his chest and back, so his injuries were easily hidden, but the other kids seemed to be getting careless with their aim and more bloodthirsty with their strength. 

Lance never fought back. His mother always told him it was better to not aggravate them, that he was still a guest in their country and the tiniest mistake could get them sent back home. 

So, Lance took the pain. It was all his fault anyway. He knew that kissing a boy seemed wrong to others, but he didn't see the harm in it. It had happened so suddenly. The boy kissed Lance without any refrain, but once they were caught, it was all blamed on Lance. 

So, almost every day when Lance would walk home, the group of 8th graders, including the boy who kissed him, would find him and give him a lesson. Lance would then continue on home like nothing happened. At first, he'd only receive bruises, and afterwards, they would ask a single question. 

"Would you still kiss a boy?"

"Definitely," Lance would reply every single time. He was not going to change just because other people didn't like something that didn't even harm them. Or at least so he thought. 

But things got worse, just like now. They kicked and punched, but they now had pocket knives. Where they got them, Lance wasn't sure. They slashed at his back and chest. He thought after a while they would have stopped, but the kids began to enjoy the activity. When Lance's mom contacted the school principal, he simply laughed it off as boys being boys and something about Lance just needed to toughen up. 

So, once the knives came into the equation, he just hid it from everyone he knew. He acted as if the bullying had stopped. He cleaned his wounds in the short period of time that he had before his siblings came home from hanging out with their friends. Both of his parents worked until 5, so he had time to clean up and pretend like a normal kid. When he wasn't being beat up, he would stay in his room and watch his favorite movies. It was basically his daily routine, and he didn't think too much about it. He spent most of his time alone.

He didn't really have any good friends at the time except Hunk, but he worked part-time at his family's restaurant and went to a better school across town. So, he was mostly alone the majority of the time. 

Although, the moments Lance lived for was when his grandfather came over with the family storybook that had been passed down through the generations. It was in a language that Lance didn't understand, but his grandfather seemed sure that one day he would  _awaken._ Whatever that meant, Lance didn't know. His grandfather would translate the stories, though by then Lance had every single story memorized.

But a short while before this moment, his grandfather had passed away and the old stories were hard to recall. That day had been enough, the pain was too much to bear now. His grandfather always told him it was best to never give up on what you believed in. He was gone, now. And in that moment so was Lance. He had dealt with this for too long, now. 

Lance snapped. He grabbed a fist of the gravel and flung it at the kids. He started to laugh crazily. The other kids stared at him with wide, fearful eyes. 

"I am done!" Lance yelled, "If you want me to stop, I will. Heck, I kinda already did! No one talks to me anyway! So why won't you join them and leave me ALONE!"

Something happened. Lance still wasn't sure what had actually occurred. He felt like he was glowing. The way the kids looked at him, he wouldn't have surprised. Next thing he knew, he was completely healed and the others were stumbling away. Lance felt drained, so he fell to the ground and just waited until he passed out. 

When he awoke, he was in a hospital. His principal and several other adults were glaring at him from outside his room. All he figured out from it was something strange had happened. The only one who seemed to understand was his mother. No one else really believed him when he said all he did was yell and then a light emanated from him that injured the others. The only ones who agreed were the other kids, but who  _really_  ever listens to kids.

After that, the kids never bothered him.

What he did terrified him. Lance still wasn't sure what happened, but he felt like his grandfather would have been the one to get answers from. It was cruel. The only solution to his problem was stolen right before the problem had even occurred. He had lost one of the few people that made him feel normal. 

Lance had felt like crying, but he didn't. Instead, he was transferred to Hunk's school, and he put on a false bravado to fool everyone that he was fine. He became an annoying idiot who constantly flirted with any girl around, and he avoided any kind of feelings past platonic with guys. Hunk didn't like his fake personality at first, but when he realized it actually helped Lance, he went with it. Eventually, it became a part of who Lance truly was. Though, time to time, he would still go silent for a while and hide somewhere by himself.

-

Lance smiled slightly at the memory. He still hid away in his room sometimes. Most of the team never really noticed and probably assumed he was taking time with skincare. Hunk would sometimes check in if Lance hid away for too long and Coran would occasionally stop by with some strange excuse, but Lance knew he just wanted to talk. Allura and Pidge never bothered him unless if he was out of his room. Though, Allura never really talked to him that much anyway. 

The only other person who would interrupt his alone time was, of course, Keith. It was like he had no clue what personal space or privacy was. Then again, Keith's room was right next door to his, so Lance wouldn't be that surprised if Keith could hear Lance whenever he cried. 

Though whenever Keith would walk in, it was always about something Lance needed did wrong or if he wanted to train. Apparently, Keith liked how Lance challenged him in combat. That's what rivals are for, right? Outside of combat, Lance loved to prank Keith as he was the most gullible and vulnerable of the team. He had yet to know every single one of Lance's famous pranks. Lance had already tried all of them on Hunk, and he was honestly too scared to try any of them on Pidge. She seemed like the type to know the best- or worse in Lance's case- pranks to do to get back at someone. 

He enjoyed pranking Keith. He always ended up mad, but not too mad. Sometimes, if Lance was lucky enough, Keith would laugh. It never failed to surprise Lance. It always stole Lance's breath whenever Keith would throw his head back with laughter and hug his stomach whenever he laughed too hard or whenever his face would turn bright red and his loud,  _adorable_ laugh would echo-...

_Oh, shit._ Lance sat straight up in the bed. 

_Maybe the feelings were mutual, after all._


	8. Secrets

_Oh, got no reason, got no shame_   
_Got no family I can't blame_   
_Just don't let me disappear_   
_I'mma tell you everything_

~

Keith hated it. He hated everything. All he wanted to do was lay on the floor and cry, but he knew better. So, he sat up on the floor and glared around. Everyone in the room backed away in fear.  _They have no clue what I am capable of._

The Queen sauntered back in. She smiled upon the sight of Keith. He was beginning to inwardly revolt at that condescending smile. Keith glared with all he had, but the Queen seemed to smile even more. She tilted her head and looked Keith up and down.

"Do you still think you are fit to be a paladin of Voltron? With you looking like that, everyone you know will be terrified of you," the Queen spoke in a soft, melodic voice. "Would you want to hurt anyone on your team? Do you want to make Blue spill some  _red_?"

Keith snapped. He launched himself at her. As Keith reached to claw her, he was knocked backwards by an invisible force and pain bloomed throughout his body. He fell to the floor onto his knees and cried out in agony. 

The Queen giggled, clapping her lower set of hands. "I got you, didn't I? You wouldn't want to harm your  _lover_?" 

Keith spat in her face. It hit her dead on.  _Apparently, the Galra are good at spitting. Nice to know._ He muttered, "He's my friend."

The Queen shook her head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I just activated your Galra gene. I am not experienced with the other half of your genes, but with the Galra I am. So, I can modify a device to control your transformations between forms. Matter-of-fact, I already have." She pointed to the mood-reading trinket that was still hanging around Keith's neck. She pushed a button on a bracelet on her bottom left hand. 

Keith doubled over and onto the floor, writhing in pain. He screamed as the fur retreated into his skin. The deep purple began to fade back to his normal paleness. The claws morphed into regular long nails. The transformation was less painful than the first time, but it still felt like he was being torn apart. 

After the process ended, it left Keith lying flat on the floor, dazed. He groaned as he turned to lie on his back. Surprisingly, no servants rushed forward to restrain him. The Queen stood over him, her face still had that ear-to-ear grin. 

"How about we make a deal?" She asked.

Keith glared. He would've attempted to punch her, but exhaustion riddled his body. The Queen raised her eyebrows.

"You will keep this a little secret and let us continue to gain information from you." She raised a hand. Marf came forward to help Keith sit up. "And no harm will come to your  _friend,_  no matter how interesting he is. We will even help him heal. All you have to do is continue to wear that necklace and come here once in a while for tests. Also, he must not know anything of this. We both know he wouldn't approve. Do you accept?" 

She reached out one of her four hands. Keith stared at it. He knew Lance was too weak to fight if he said no. If Keith agreed, anything could happen to him. He thought over the pros and the cons until he came to a conclusion. The best thing to do would be to buy some time until the team would find them.

Reluctantly, Keith firmly grasped her hand. She pulled Keith to his feet and traced a finger across the back of his hand. He winced as a mark burned into his skin. The Queen's smile faded. She released his hand. "Then you shall go."

Marf wrapped two of his arms to help Keith walk to his room. They maneuvered through the halls. As they moved farther away from the throne room, Marf got back to his normal self. When they were outside the door, Marf was acting like nothing strange had just occurred. He smiled and let go of Keith. He bowed slightly and walked away. 

Keith did his best to prepare himself for rejection, anger, or anything that could possibly happen. Once he had an emotional barrier set up, he opened the door and walked in. The sight was nothing of what he prepared for.

Lance was asleep on the bed, clutching the Keith's helmet to his chest. Keith quietly closed the door behind him. Movement across the room caught his eye. A mirror stood in front of the wall, reflecting himself. It was almost like it was mocking him. Keith appeared like he usually did, but he knew what hid beneath his skin. He turned away from the mirror and focused on Lance. 

After the recent events, he seemed surprisingly calm. His cuts didn't look as irritated as they had yesterday. As much as Keith hated not being able to do anything to fight back, he was just happy that Lance would at least benefit from it. He didn't trust the Zryrazians, but he hoped they would at least uphold their deal until the team would come back. They should've at least sent a message back, but nothing had come up, yet. 

Keith sat on the edge of the bed. He examined the back of his hand. The mark had faded to a barely noticeable scar, but still throbbed slightly. He ran his other hand over it.

"You're finally back. Are you okay? You seem tense." Keith jumped and quickly turned to Lance. 

Lance was rubbing his eyes. He sat up and set the helmet on the bedside table. When Lance turned back to face Keith, he had a serious look on his face. Keith instantly understood what it meant. 

"Lance, just... Just forget what happened earlier," Keith begged.

" _Keith,_ that wasn't something I can forget," Lance said in a gentle tone. The way he spoke shocked Keith. It was rare for Lance to act like this. Usually, he would find someway to push Keith's buttons to anger or bother him. But in this moment, Lance was staring at Keith in a way that confused him even more than he already was.

"Well, ignore then," Keith retorted. Lance sighed. He opened his mouth to speak, but Keith cut him off, " _Please?"_ Keith's voice cracked. Lance's gaze softened. 

"Let's just sleep. I need my beauty sleep," Lance replied while pulling the blanket back over him. He laid on his side facing away from Keith. 

Keith pushed the blanket back from underneath him and he kicked off his shoes. He laid on the bed and pulled the blanket up to his shoulders. His mind was trying to think over everything that had happened today, but exhaustion drew him in. 

His eyes fluttered shut.

-

Keith woke up to breathing fanning across his face. They were both facing each other and were very close, but not touching. Keith had woken up first again. He carefully scooted his way out of the bed. He almost screeched when he saw Marf at the edge of the bed.

He had Keith's bayard in one hand, rumpled clothes in another, and a tray of food and drinks in the last two. Marf smiled at Keith and handed him his bayard.

"You left it in the throne room yesterday," He frowned as he mentioned the throne room. Keith was about to question it when Marf quickly shook his head and smiled again. "I brought sustenance and fresh clothing." 

"You can place it on the table," Keith gestured and Marf placed it down. All of a sudden, Keith blurted out, "Hey, um, why can the Queen call you by your name if they are supposed to be so "intimate"?" Marf shifted uneasily. 

"Well, um-" He paused, "It is very difficult to explain..."

Keith could understand if it was an uncomfortable topic, but it seemed like even Marf didn't know the answer. 

"Forget it then," Keith added and Marf visibly relaxed his tense body. "So, other than that, what are you here for?"

"Oh, yes! The Queen is fairly occupied today, so you two can do whatever you want today and I am here to be your guide. The Queen thought I would be best since you already know me."

Keith just nodded and then stared a the food. Memories from yesterday flooded his mind. Marf stared from Keith to the food and back to Keith. 

"Is there a problem with the food, sir?"

"Is it, you know..." Keith gestured with his hands. Marf didn't seem to catch on. Keith quickly looked at the still sleeping Lance and back to Marf. He whispered, "Modified?"

Suddenly, Marf laughed, "Like the ones from yesterday that modified its taste to your most missed food?" Keith furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Marf.

"I guess." Keith replied.

"No, this is just meat and bread. I know the Galra like it, but I am not too sure about humans or..." Marf paused. "You know..." He repeated the same phrase Keith used earlier.

Everything here just seemed to get more and more confusing. "No, I don't."

"Oh, uh forget it, then. Well, enjoy the food. I will leave you in peace and wait outside the door." Marf walked out and the door shut behind him. Keith turned to look at Lance. 

He still continued to snore away. Keith rolled his eyes. He shook Lance's shoulders.

"Hey! Do you always have to sleep in?" Keith shouted in Lance's ear. Lance yelled and jumped out of the bed. He instantly fell over due to one of his legs being out of commission. 

"Not nice!" Lance groaned while rubbing his ankle. Keith rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help the smirk forming on his face. Keith helped Lance to his feet. Lance reached over and grabbed his crutch.

"We got food," Keith tilted his head in the direction of it. Lance glared at him, but his eye lit up at the food. 

"Yum!" Lance carefully sat on the floor next to the table. He took a piece of the strange bread that appeared purple. Keith sat next to him and picked up a slice of dried meat that looked a lot like jerky. They ate and drank in silence, but Keith could see Lance glancing at him in the corner of his eye. Whenever Keith would look at him, he would quickly look away. It seemed Lance would only look at him when Keith would be "distracted." 

After a while, Lance had stopped eating and started staring him down. It made Keith feel extremely uncomfortable. 

"What?" Keith barked, glaring at Lance. He jumped and pointed at Keith's shirt.

"You have rips in your shirt. What happened? Did they hurt you?" Lance asked with wide eyes. Keith looked down and sure enough, there were long rips down one sleeve and one on the other side of the shirt. Pain slightly pulsed from the necklace as if it was a warning. 

"No, I, uh." Keith quickly thought of a plausible excuse," snagged it on something. I didn't notice it ripped."

Lance raised an eyebrow, but didn't question him. He looked over and noticed the new clothes. Both sets seemed the same. Both were of the same loose style and were black. Keith grabbed a set stood to change. Lance took a pair and walked ungainly across the room.

Thankfully, they left his underwear on him. So, Keith quickly changed with ease. The pants pooled at his feet. It was definitely an improvement from yesterday, but he didn't see how he would be able to walk around without tripping. 

"I think you took my pants."

Keith turned around and chuckled. The pants weren't hilariously short; they hung an inch above Lance's ankles. Lance, however, laughed while clutching his stomach while leaning on his crutch. Keith crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"You're such a  _shorty_ ," Lance wheezed. Keith scoffed, but couldn't help but be happy that Lance was being his usual self and wasn't treating Keith like, well, an alien. 

"Am not," Keith objected. 

"You definitely are!" Lance laughed hard and was red in the face. The crutch slipped from underneath Lance and he began to fall. Keith launched himself across the room, but landed flat on his face. Pain blossomed across his face from his nose. 

Keith groaned and sat up, holding his nose. Lance's crutch was on the floor, but he was still standing. Well, was attempting to while being bent forward, laughing his ass off.

"You just- Ahah!" He could barely speak coherently. Keith glared.

The door opened behind Keith. 

"Is everything okay?" Marf's voice rang out. Lance just nodded while swatting him off, not even pausing his laughter though he still appeared to be on the edge of falling over. The door closed again.

"I hate you," Keith spat. Lance laughed even harder.

"Oh really?" Lance gave Keith a dubious look. Keith's face flushed. Lance finally began to calm down and he bent over and grabbed his crutch. "My bad. I'm sorry."

Keith stood up and pulled the stupid pants off. "Here, take your damn curtains."

Lance rolled his eyes, but grabbed the pants and set them to the side. He pulled the pants down to his knees but the pants caught on his brace. Lance tugged on it, but it was difficult thanks to the crutch. He ashamedly looked up at Keith with begging eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me, Lance. I am not helping you with that!" 

"You wouldn't help a crippled person. What about the bonding moment we had?" Lance pouted.

"I thought you didn't remember that?" Keith asked, crossing his arms. 

"I don't, but you seem to insist it happened," Lance said raising his hands up. "Please?" Lance asked with a smile.

Keith sighed and walked forward to help. He finally got it off Lance's legs and he pulled the pants onto himself. "Do you need help getting the other pants on?" Lance smirked, but shook his head. 

Keith walked to the table and drank some water. Once Lance was finally done, they headed out the door. Before they reached Marf, Lance leaned close to Keith's ear and whispered in a low voice.

"By the way, nice briefs."


	9. Ghosts

_A feeling I just can't describe_   
_All this time we spent alone_   
_Thinking we could not belong_   
_To something so damn beautiful_

~

_Oh my god! Why did I say that?!_

Lance was used to flirting, no doubt. It was a part of his personality. Except now it was different. He definitely didn't know why, but his face was burning. Lance didn't catch Keith's reaction, instead he rushed up as fast as he could with a crutch to Marf. 

"So, I hear we can do anything today, right? Do you have a pool?" Lance asked. Keith slowly made his way to stand at least a foot away from Lance. His body was positioned in a way where his face was out of Lance's sight, but he swore he saw a glimpse of redness on Keith's face before he turned away. 

Marf frowned. "What's a pool?"

"Well, how about a training area instead? Do you have that?" Keith piped up, his voice held no trace of any emotion. Lance rolled his eyes.  _Only Keith would want to train in a situation like this..._

"That we do have," Marf exclaimed with a large smile on his face. "But I wouldn't think it's wise with his injuries." He gestured to Lance. Lance only responded with a shrug.

"It's fine. I am still tired and in pain 'cause of some annoying idiot with a mullet woke me up in the rudest way possible," Lance shot a glare at Keith, but he quickly looked away, looking the tiniest bit of smug. "So, I won't mind letting Keith do his own thing for a while. Besides, I can always find some enjoyment in bothering him relentlessly." Keith raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. On the other hand, Marf looked strangely excited while watching the exchange from the strange newcomers. Marf quickly turned around and they walked to the training area. 

They made it there after a few dobashes. The area was large and wide. It kept to the white and steel theme. One wall was covered with weapons ranging from small daggers to large complex guns. At least that's what Lance assumed they were. Their shape seemed similar to his bayard, except much larger. 

A pale blue light in the corner of the room caught his attention. It seemed to pull Lance toward it. It seemed these lights did that to him. He began to feel anxious and in pain. The crutch holding him up began to slip from his grip. Lance saw Keith in the corner of his eye. He seemed unaffected. The light seemed to waver and something began to form inside of it.

"Okay," Marf clapped his hands causing Lance to jump out of the trance. "I suppose you two want alone time. I have some things to attend to but will back in about two Altean vargas. Be safe." And with that, he left the room. Lance looked back to the light, but whatever was there before seemed to have disappeared. 

Lance looked at Keith. Keith was already looking at the swords, picking them up and testing their balance. Lance sat on a chair-looking object at the side of the room. He propped his crutch next to him against the wall and rested his leg on some weird statue. 

"So, explain to me what that was earlier." Lance glanced up. Keith had his arms crossed and his mouth was set firmly. A small dagger was gripped tightly in one hand.

"Exactly what it seemed. I thought that was fairly obvious,"Lance remarked leaning back in to the chair with a playful grin. 

"Don't do it again," Keith warned while throwing the dagger at a dummy. The dagger sunk deep into the wooden chest. Lance should've been terrified at the notion Keith made, but instead it caused him laugh. Instantly, Keith gave him a death glare. "Please." Lance stopped laughing, but the smile remained.

"Okay," Lance spoke, barely audible. Usually Lance would tease and bicker his way out of agreeing to things he didn't want to agree to, but something held him back. Keith nodded and turned away to grab more daggers.  _What's happening to me?_ Lance felt strangely content despite their current situation. He always imagined that if he and Keith were trapped alone together, Keith would have given up on Lance and would leave him behind. Instead, Keith seemed to be more patient with him. Lance couldn't wrap his mind around it. Things were weird, not mention what happened last night. All of it messed with Lance's head. 

He knew he always felt something for Keith, but Lance always assumed it was some sort of admiration. He wasn't going to lie, Keith was a great paladin. Lance reached up to subconsciously scratch at the bandage on his cheek. He looked up. Keith moved on to a sword and was fighting a training robot.  _Whatever's happening between us is so weird._ Keith glanced at him, only to quickly look away when he met Lance's gaze.

_But what's so wrong with that?_

If this had happened when the team first came together, Lance would've instantly denied anything going on between the two. Now, however, he didn't mind it. After all, he had come to understand Keith more. Keith was an orphan who never really made any friends. When his only friend went missing, Keith wasn't allowed to grieve or know much about what really happened. So he left to live alone in some shack in the desert. No wonder why he had so many trust issues. He was alone. Lance could relate to that.

Not that he was entirely alone. He had a large family and once he moved, he made dozens of friends. Nonetheless, Lance hid who he really was. Hunk knew him, but Lance didn't let him in for the fear of being rejected. So, yes, he was alone in a sense.

Lance shook his head to rid the thoughts. They were beginning to hurt. Instead, he watched how Keith moved. The way his arms flexed as he swung the sword. It sliced through one of the robot's limbs quite easily. The robot was wooden and seemed to have tech similar to the Olkari, though it appeared slightly more advanced. This race seemed very familiar to Lance, but unreachable in his mind. Keith spun around to block a move from one the now three arms. 

Lance noticed the teal light in the corner was pulsing. He sat up and leaned forward to look closer. A warm wave washed over Lance's body. The light took the form of a very young Zryrazian who was smiling at Lance. He smiled back. They beckoned him closer. So, Lance stood and walked to the young child. His crutch was left behind. Everything faded to background noise. 

Lance made his way to the child. They reached up one hand to Lance. He grasped it and the child smiled again, this time, the smile appeared to hold more sorrow than happiness. The light seemed to envelope Lance. Pain he didn't seem to notice had begun to fade. Old memories flashed before his eyes. 

_The last time his grandfather showed him the storybook filled with strange stories in a foreign language._

His face felt oddly warm.

_The time he met Hunk after a terribly lonely day._

The smile on his face faded away. 

_The last time he saw all of his family together._

Lance realized his face was warm because he was crying. The tears ran quickly down his face.

_The first time Keith got what Lance had worked so hard for, while Keith hadn't even seemed to have tried much less care about the position._

Lance knew better now, but it still hurt. His legs gave out and he fell.

_"Just forget what happened," Keith begged as if he regretted having any sort of feeling towards Lance._

Lance sobbed loudly. His hand slipped from the child's grip. Their smile was gone and replaced with a sad frown. Suddenly, warmth enveloped him again. Lance looked to see if it was the child, but saw Keith instead.

"Lance! Are you okay? Talk to me please!" Keith cried out. His eyebrows furrowed and his face etched with worry. Once he saw Lance was now responsive he settled down and helped Lance to his feet. "What happened to you? You were sitting over there and next thing I know, you're over here sobbing and muttering about forgetting something while light seemed to just emit from you."

Lance's face drained of color. Tears began to fall again. "I-It was nothing! Just something was in the light and I held their hand a-and-" He quickly thought of some lie. Before he could think of anything convincing, he felt immensely drained of energy. His eyes began to droop and Keith caught him before he fell. Lance clung to Keith's shoulders. A memory briefly crossed his mind. 

"Stay away from the Queen. Don't trust her or tell her anything about th-" Lance slipped into a deep sleep. 

-

Lance awoke dazed. Keith was pacing back and forth next to him. 

"How long have I been out?" Lance sat up, rubbing his temple. His head was throbbing.

"Lance!" Keith rushed to sit next to him. "It's been at least an hour. Um, I haven't gotten used to Altean time so I am not sure when Marf will be back. But, uh, how are you feeling?"

"Great, actually." Keith looked dubious. "Really! Like I could run a mile." 

Keith scoffed, the necklace swirled to . "With your dislocated ankle, sure."

Lance looked down at his splinted ankle, questioningly. Hesitatingly, he reached to remove it while Keith watched with confused eyes. After he set the splint aside, he slowly rotated his foot. When no pain came, he got up on his feet. Keith stared with wide, disbelieving eyes. 

"What the quiznak just happened?" Keith inquired. Lance shrugged, while quickly sitting back down to put the splint back on. "Um, what are you doing? You don't need it anymore."

"They can't know that I just magically healed in five seconds. That is not a normal human thing!" Lance spewed. After he finished, he stared at Keith. He shifted uncomfortably in Lance's gaze.

"Um, why are you looking at me like that?"

"What happened earlier? I can't quite recall all of it," Lance confessed while resting his hands in a small heap on his lap. 

"You were sitting. Then suddenly, you were next to the light in the corner. You collapsed and cried about forgetting something. When I asked you what happened, you broke down. It was terrifying." Keith looked worried. Lance felt an urge to joke, but he couldn't find it in himself. He felt scared, too. This had happened in a way before with his childhood bullies, but it still didn't clear any of the confusion up. In fact, it made it far more confusing. 

"Let's just forget this happened. Don't tell anyone. I don't think we can trust them yet."

"You said something like that earlier."

"I did! Why didn't you tell me that?" 

He just shrugged, "You just said don't trust the Queen when I didn't. I guess I forgot. Do you remember why you said that?"

"Sadly, no." Lance groaned. He felt like his mind had betrayed him. He couldn't recall any useful memories. 

A knock sounded at the door, causing Keith and Lance to jump. They both went to action. Lance jumped into the chair with his crutch by his side, while Keith grabbed a sword and pretended he was testing the balance. Marf walked in and smiled. 

"Did you two have a productive time?"

"Not really, but I suppose pretty boy did have some nice sword time," Lance remarked with his usual flirtatious facade. Keith scoffed, but Lance could see his tension relax. 

"That's great to hear. Unfortunately, the Queen has requested the red paladin's presence for a short period of time. I'd assume, you'd know the way?" Keith nodded. "Lance you can come with me for a while."

Lance stared at Keith worriedly, but Keith waved him off. Marf helped Lance to his feet. He grabbed the crutch and placed it under his arm. He didn't tear his eyes away from Keith until he and Marf were out the door. 


	10. Until the Rain Stops

_Is it just our bodies?_   
_Are we both losing our minds?_   
_Is the only reason you're holding me tonight_   
_'Cause we're scared to be lonely?_

~

Keith made his way through the halls. He kept clenching his fists, relaxing them, only to clench them again. It was a nervous habit of his. Keith breathed shakily. He had no clue what was going to happen or what the Queen wanted. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to transform again. This time there were actual guards in front of the throne room doors. They took one look at Keith and moved to the sides.

He took a deep breath and walked in. The Queen sat at the throne. Her lower set of hands sat flat against her legs, while the other two fiddled with some strange object. Her tentacle-like hair was unruly and messy, as if she had scrunched it up. She looked angry and when she noticed Keith, her jaw clenched tightly shut.

_Quiznak._

"Care to explain to me why you took the neckla-" She cut off abruptly, looking at Keith's chest. Keith looked down at the cursed trinket that hung from his neck. "You didn't take it off. I made it so it would be impossible to be put back on, unless by me."

Keith glanced back at her. The Queen stared at his face for a moment. "I assume you're just as confused as I am?" Keith numbly nodded, his eyebrows furrowing. "I get transmissions from the necklace. Don't worry, I am not always listening, but I have a bot that filters it. It only alerts me when there has been a suspicious thought or action."

Keith stood in place. He usually would've glared or anything particularly hot-headed as Lance would put it, but Keith felt too scared. He saw the monster that hid inside of him, he did not want to see it again. 

"However, a varga and a half ago, all transmissions ceased. My bot waited to test to see if it was an interference caused by certain foods or...  _particular_ emotions, but nothing came in. No results, nothing! It's something I haven't seen in a long time. So, what was it?" She stood and walked closer to Keith. She squinted her gold eyes to closely examine him. 

"I don't know," Keith spoke wearily. He looked up to face the Queen. He got a strange burst of confidence. Keith straightened up and added, "That scares you, doesn't it? There's nothing you can do about it either."

He felt pleasure at the fact that the Queen hadn't smiled once since he got here. She glared at him. Keith figured he would pay for this later, but now he felt great.

"Go." The Queen gave in, "I still have important things to attend to, so I shouldn't need to see you again until tomorrow at the soonest." She turned and sat in the throne. Keith turned and walked out. The doors shut behind him. He had no clue where Lance was, but he wandered around the halls

Keith passed several rooms and he was sure he walked in a couple circles. After a while he began to feel frustrated, so he stopped and closed his eyes. Taking deep breathes, he stood until he heard a loud laugh. Keith twisted around and ran in that direction. He burst through a door and saw Marf laughing and Lance had was smirking.

"Did I miss a joke?" Keith inquired. Lance's gaze darted to Keith and inhaled sharply. He struggled to his feet and hobbled to Keith. "Wha-" Lance caught him in a hug. Keith stiffened at first but relaxed in Lance's comforting heat. "What?"

"I'm not stupid," Lance whispered and he held Keith tighter. Keith furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"I know. That's all I'll say. But we are here together, so we might as well be there for each other. No fighting. Only compromises, right?" He pulled away to look at Keith.

The red paladin nodded. "Yeah." 

Marf walked up to Lance. "You forgot your crutch."

Lance laughed and completely pulled out of Keith's touch. "Yeah, I uh, wasn't thinking right." He took the crutch and adjusted it under his arm. 

"So, what now?" Keith asked looking at Marf. 

"Lance explained to me what a pool is. We only have those on the surface. Down here there are only cleansing stations or showers as Lance put it. So if you two would like to swim, you can wait here while I arrange for a way up." Keith nodded and Marf gave a small smile before leaving through the door Keith came in from.

After he was out of earshot, Keith turned to Lance. "What do you mean by I know?"

Lance gave Keith a sad smile, "I saw your face before you left. And I know that look all too well." Confusion etched across Keith's face. "Anyway, don't worry, our team will be here before too long."

"How can you be so sure?" Keith exclaimed.

"Well, Hunk's my best friend, he'd never stop until he found me. Pidge is smart, so she'd be able to figure something out. And Shiro would never leave us! Plus, Allura loves me too much to leave me behind either." Lance smirked. Keith rolled his eyes. Lance placed a hand on Keith's shoulder and spoke softly. "Hey... We'll make it out of here."

It was too much to handle. The closeness in proximity  _and_  emotion] was too much. Keith took a few steps back and Lance's arm fell to his side. He swore he saw a brief flash of a hurt look on Lance's face, but he doubted it because it was gone in an instant. 

Footsteps sounded back into the room. "I got permission! I also have clothing better fitted for water-based activities."

"Sounds great!" Lance replied. He walked past Keith, his arm slightly brushed against Keith's. 

Keith sighed and turned around.  _Today has been way too long of a day._

-

They made it back to the surface on a rising platform. It was only sprinkling now and the sky had gone from a dark, dreary gray to a pale gray. If it wasn't for the two suns that he knew the planet orbited around, Keith would say the planet was like an twin Earth. 

He turned to face Lance. He had a melancholy glint in his eyes and Keith knew exactly why. Lance missed Earth and most likely his family, too. Keith had nothing back there. Frankly, Shiro was all he truly had. If Shiro , Keith didn't know what he would do.

"Pity... It's still raining. I suppose we can come back ano-."

Lance cut him off, "A little rain doesn't hurt anyone."

Marf looked at Lance like he had grown a third eye. Keith just gave the slightest smile.  _Cute. Wait! Not cute! Stubborn, really._ Keith shook the thought away. Marf turned to look at Keith. He just shrugged. 

"Fine by me," Keith confirmed. Lance looked at Keith with furrowed eyebrows, yet with a smile. 

"Don't tell me you're going soft on me," Lance teased.

"No, I just know there is no point arguing about this. Plus, I want to swim, too. Ever think about that?" Keith inquired while crossing his arms.

"No, I'm self-centered, remember?" Lance laughed. Keith just rolled his eyes. As he finished he caught Marf smirking at the situation. Keith's eyebrow twitched as he realized what Marf was probably thinking. 

 _Shit, he thinks we're flirting._ Keith paused.  _Well, aren't we?_ He played with the necklace nervously and turned to face Lance again. He raised an eyebrow, clearly oblivious to the situation.  _No, even if we are, it is only playful banter. That's all it is. Anyway, Lance doesn't feel anything for me, we covered that well yesterday._

The lift stopped. By then they were practically soaked. Keith carefully stepped off the platform and turned to help Lance, but found he was already beside Keith. Droplets rolled off Lance's face and his hair plastered against the side of his face. Then his eyes came across Lance's, which were staring right back him. Keith flushed, but didn't look away. Frankly, he couldn't and didn't really want to. 

Lance didn't question it, instead he just smirked and looked away. "So, back at the surface..." They hadn't been underground that long, but it felt like forever. The tall trees emitted a piney smell that reminded Keith of Christmas. Man, did he  _hate_  Christmas. Marf led them along a muddy trail. 

Eventually the mud faded to stone and they were heading in the direction of the nearby mountain. Keith looked up. The gray mountain had a purple tone to it.  _Strangely beautiful._ But something better caught his eye. 

Lance was walking with his crutch, but paid no mind to the trail. His eyes were actually on the lake that lay ahead. Matter-of-fact, Lance's eyes seemed to be the same deep color of the water. Quickly the blue eyes flickered towards Keith, but he quickly looked away. Little did he know, Lance stared at him in that exact same way.

Before they knew it, the small group had made it to the lake. Marf bent over and tested the water with his hand. He nodded in satisfaction and turned to the paladins. 

"I will stay if you need anything, but I will keep to myself farther away so you will have you privacy," Marf informed.

"This brace can go in water right?" Lance asked. It was practically pointless to ask now, since it was already wet. 

Marf simply nodded, "Yes, just avoid injuring yourself any further." After he finished, he gave a small nod and walked away to the far end of the lake. 

"I call the right side, the left's all yours," Keith quickly stated. Lance cocked an eyebrow in question.

"You do know I can't swim, right? At least I have to act like I can't," He remarked, tilting his head in Marf's direction. His healed ankle couldn't be revealed. 

Keith groaned, "Are you kidding me? Do you have to make everything so complicated?"  _Like a lot of things,_ Keith almost added. 

Lance smiled, "Yep!" Keith rolled his eyes, but accepted the inevitable torture.

"Well, we're staying in the shallow end, deal?" He stretched out his hand.

Lance shook it happily and began for the water. Drops of rain rippled the water as Lance sat himself into the shallow end. He sighed contently and tilted his head back. Small droplets splattered against his tan face and broad shoulders.

"You look in your element," Keith remarked, placing himself right next to Lance for no particular reason. Nope, no reason at all.

"I am the Blue paladin, you know," Lance retorted, not even bothering to open his eyes. It allowed Keith to stare to his heart content. His chest was bare, minus all the waterproof bandages, and he wore the same gray swim-shorts as Keith. He was lanky, but a lot more muscular than what he appeared to be with clothes on. 

"Guess it was meant to be then," Keith replied, forcing himself to tear his eyes away. 

Lance only hummed in agreement. Keith decided to swim out a bit further. He needed the distance. He wasn't the best at swimming, as he didn't learn to until he was 12, but he still could at least. 

He dove under and glided through the water. Keith enjoyed the cooling sensation of the water. He came back up for a quick breath and turned around to check on Lance. His eyes were open now and were on Keith. Keith tilted his head to convey his confusion. Lance just smiled and swam carefully to him. It wasn't too deep, yet so Keith could stand on the cold stone and the water was up to his chest.

Lance had left his crutch on the shore, so he placed a hand on Keith's shoulder to balance himself. "You never told me you could swim." 

"You never asked," Keith replied. Lance squinted and gave Keith a strange look. "Besides, a lot of people can swim, it's not uncommon," He quickly added.

"True, but I didn't take you as a swimmer," Lance confessed.

"I'm not really a good swimmer. Also, I didn't take you as the type to be able to heal so quickly," Keith remarked.

Lance's eyes widen and looked around. "Don't talk about that! Not here," he whispered.

"We need to talk about it sometime, Lance."

"Oh, yeah? Well, there are plenty things we need to talk about,  _Keith_ ," Lance retorted.

Keith glared at him. "Shut up! I already told you it was nothing!" 

Lance suddenly halted. He stared at Keith with wide, emotionless eyes. "Nothing," he repeated.

"Nothing," Keith assured, but a little unsure now.

In that moment, Lance did something that Keith was not ready for. He kissed him. Lance had captured Keith's mouth in a soft kiss. Keith knew he should push Lance away, but he couldn't. He didn't want to. The feeling of Lance's soft lips on his was magnetic. Keith kissed back, wrapping his arms around Lance's waist. Lance tangled his hand in Keith's hair while the other stayed at Keith's neck. 

It was intoxicating. Keith didn't want it to end, but then he remembered the situation.  _He doesn't like me. He just wants action, that's all. Lance will never want me like I want him. He would just leave me in the end._ Keith pushed Lance off.

"Stop!" Keith demanded shakily. "Just stop." 

Lance just stared. He looked sad, but he shook it off. "Fine. I'll wait then. But I know you, Keith. I am not stupid. If you want, I will give you all the time you need, but I will always be here for you. You should know that. You don't have to lie to me." He spoke calmly and honestly it confused Keith even more.

Before Keith could respond, Lance swam away. While Lance wasn't looking, he reached up to touch his mouth.  _So much for a first kiss._


	11. Inadequate

_This may never start_   
_I'll tear us apart_   
_Can I be your enemy?_   
_Losing half a year_   
_Waiting for you here_   
_I'd be your anything_

~

When Lance made it to the shore, he picked up his crutch and walked over to Marf. He was running his hands over the surface of the water and looked up as Lance approached him. 

"What's wrong?" Marf asked.

"I think you saw," Lance replied and Marf quickly looked back down.

"I am so-"

"Don't." Lance said abruptly. Marf frowned but stayed quiet. Lance sat next to him and glanced at Keith. He had sat down in the shallow water and messed with the necklace. Lance couldn't really see his face, but he still felt bad.  _Maybe I shouldn't have done that. I must've gone too far._ His heart felt heavy.  _I probably deserved getting rejected._ The rain began to pick up again. It seemed like it would never stop. 

Lance leaned back to feel the rain hit his skin. The rain water was much cooler than the lake water. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his mouth. A trace was still left. Only a memory of the kiss. It was confusing. Lance knew what Keith had confessed the other night and later said it was nothing. But when Lance kissed him, he kissed back and quite passionately, too. 

Lance felt like the answer should be crystal clear, but it just wasn't. He sighed and placed his face in his hands. Normally, he'd be worried about getting acne from touching his face, but he assumed a scar was already in place of the gash on his cheek, so what's the point of freaking out about his skin anymore. It was as pointless as trying to figure out Keith.

He knew something was up with him. Usually, Keith would be harsher and more hotheaded, but the strength he carried faded away. Lance figured it probably had something to do with the Queen, but, of course, there was nothing he knew. He was inadequate.

_Stop._ His grandfather's voice rang out. Lance jolted up and glanced in every direction, but his grandfather was no where in sight. He caught Marf's worried gaze.

"Sorry, I thought I heard something weird," Lance explained, rubbing the back of his head.

"Okay?" Marf sounded very unsure. "Should we go in? The rain is getting heavier."

Lance glanced back to Keith. He had gone back to swimming. Lance wished he could do the same, but it wasn't normal for humans to heal in a split second. Unless they had a healing pod. That thought aroused a question.

"Hey, Marf?" Lance asked to get Marf's attention. Marf quickly blushed and looked down.

"Sorry, I forgot. Um, do guys have healing pods? Just curious, I know you guys probably know of Alteans,"  _No, I don't,_ Lance thought confused. "They have them."

Marf scratched his arms nervously, "Um, I don't think so. I've never seen one, though I have heard of them." 

"Really? I would've thought with the Queen's advanced technology that she'd have them..."

"I'm sorry, I understand that you would probably like to swim." Marf said with his dark brown eyes observing Lance. He turned to gaze at Keith. "What are you two going to do to reconcile?"

"I'm not sure. I doubt he'd listen to me... But anyway, let's not talk about it." Lance frowned. He just wanted to relax.  _So much for that_.  _Maybe I should've just stuck to flirting with hot girls._ Lance rolled his eyes and caught Keith in his gaze.  _Nah, I have something better to work for._

Lance wasn't sure why. His time at the Garrison was terrible just because Keith. Even after he left the Garrison, Lance was still reminded of his uselessness compared to Keith, but with Keith himself, he felt challenged. Keith  _was_ better than Lance, but the more they challenged each other, the more efficient Lance became. He learned skills of his own so that  _not_ better than Keith, but equal in their own ways. 

Lance wasn't sure what it was, but he loved it.  _It's kinda funny. I never realized any of this until I actually got time to relax. Even though we are trapped here._ Lance looked down at his hands. They were still partly bandaged even though Lance knew they were completely healed.

He groaned.  _That was another mystery I have to figure out. Why can't things ever be simple?_

"I think we should head in," an all too familiar voice expressed. Lance turned to face Keith with a glare. He just ignored Lance and focused on Marf.

"The rain is getting too harsh," Marf agreed. The cold rain bit into Lance's skin, but he didn't mind. Matter-of-fact, it calmed Lance as it reminded him of the rain he used to dance in with his siblings. However, Lance stood up without a word and positioned him on his crutch. That caught Keith's attention. He stared at Lance strangely and frowned, as if in thought.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Lance asked and made his way back to the lift. The sounds of footsteps followed behind him. The walk was uncomfortably quiet, but after a while they finally reached the lift. He raised his foot to step on, but his brace caught on the edge and Lance slipped.

He would've fallen on his face, but strong arms caught him. Since there were only two pale arms, Lance instantly knew who it was. After he stood back up, Lance shook Keith off and stepped on, facing away from the other two. He could practically feel Keith crossing his arms.

Marf awkwardly coughed and tapped his fingers along the railing. Lance just rested his arms on the metal and stared as they descended down the abyss. It was a lot better than falling down it. The lift creaked as it came to a stop.

"So," Marf said drawing out the o," What now?"

"I'm going to bed, I know it's early, but I'm drained." Lance confessed. He allowed himself to glance at Keith once more. His arms were crossed, of course, and he avoided looking at Lance. Keith appeared angry, but he also had a pained look in his eyes that Lance couldn't explain. 

"Fine, I'm gonna hit the training deck," Keith mumbled and walked away. Both Marf and Lance stared after him in silence. After he turned the corner, Marf turned to Lance. He, however, let his eyes linger where Keith was for just awhile longer. 

"Do you want me to walk you to your room?" Marf questioned softly. Lance shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good," Lance replied. Marf walked down a the other corridor without another word. Lance looked around the vast and strangely empty corridors. There were so little people here, Lance wondered why. It seemed too perfect and the Queen was being way too generous. Everything brought up new questions and it filled Lance's head. It was too much. He didn't know what was going on between him and Keith and even much less about himself. Also, where the heck was his team? It seemed like Lance could never get any peace.

He groaned and began to walk. Fat drops of water fell to the ground with each step. He wished he had a towel. It was the only thing Marf didn't give to Lance, even though he usually gets everything they might need. Before he knew it, Lance was in front of the door to his room. He was about to step in when a little whisper came from behind him. 

Lance spun around and his eyes darted everywhere, but he didn't see anything.  _Great, I'm going insane now, too._  Suddenly, one of the lights flickered and lowered itself to the ground. Lance pressed his back to the door, hoping it would open. Usually it opened itself, but it wouldn't now. Lance shut his eyes tightly and waited for the nausea to hit him, but nothing did. Hesitantly, Lance opened his eyes and peeked. 

The ball of light had taken form. It was a young woman now, but it didn't look like a Zryrazian. Instead, it appeared more... Galra. Lance gasped and instinctively leaned closer to inspect the light. 

"You won't hurt me, will you?" Lance whispered. The young woman shook her head. She had a stern look on her face as if she was saying  _We need to talk._ Lance carefully stepped forward and looked both ways down the hall for anyone else. 

" _I have to warn you about the soul thief."_

"Warn me about  _what_?" Lance asked, barely audible.

" _The_  Queen  _isn't as kind as she seems. The other young paladin knows of this, but whatever you do, don't ask him about it. He is under observation and if she know you are suspicious, she will test you too. She is aware something is strange about you."_

"What do you mean she'll test on me, too. What is she doing to Keith?!" Lance demanded, his voice raising slightly. The woman eyed Lance strangely. 

" _Let me take you somewhere private. Your room or this corridor is not safe for conversation."_

"Where?" The Woman of Light walked down the hall and Lance followed her warily. They stopped in front of a blank wall. She pressed her hand into it and the wall popped open with a hiss. They quickly stepped into the dark room and the door shut. The only light came from the woman. 

"What is you name?" Lance asked. 

_"Kleas."_

"I have a question." Kleas waited patiently. "Um, what are you, if it isn't too rude to ask?"

_"I am pure quintessence with a trace of my consciousness left. A soul some might say."_

"Ah, and I assume that's what all the lights are then?" 

_"All are quintessence from people, yes, but only a rare few have their conscience left. No one notices them, though, minus you."_

"Why can I see you?" Lance asked.

_"I don't know. I only know a few races that can mess with quintessence, but most are extinct, thanks to my pitiful race. The Zryrazians can use it, but cannot sense it like you can."_

Lance rubbed his partly dry arm thoughtfully. "So, back to the Queen. What is she doing to Keith?"

_"All I know is that they are tests, but what happens, I do not know."_ Kleas frowned.

"Hm... You called the Queen a soul thief, why?" 

_"How do you think she got me or any of the quintessence, rather?" Lance shrugged. "She does a ritual to pull the quintessence out of a living organism, usually it's her own people, but she got me after my team left me behind."_

Lance winced, he could see that happening to him. "That's dark." 

Kleas's form began to shift. " _I must go. My form is fading, but we will talk again. Don't say a word of this to anyone, not even Keith."_ And with that she shifted back into a ball of light. It floated back to the door which opened again. Lance shut it behind him and went to his room as the light went back to its place along the wall.

This time, the door slid open and Lance stepped in. It was still empty. Lance groaned and flopped himself onto the bed.  _You might as well call me the Ghost Whisperer or something._ Lance breathed in deeply and sighed. The bed wasn't even moderately comfortable, but he definitely needed it at the moment.

Just as he began to settle in and rest the door slid open. Lance groaned and turned around to lie on his back. Of course, it was Keith.

"Hello," Lance grumbled. Keith sat on the edge of the bed and the door slid shut. 

"You're getting the bed wet," Keith pointed out with zero vigor. 

"It appears I am." And with that, Lance scooted over and patted the bed next to him. Keith looked at Lance curiously, but none-the-less he laid his wet body next to Lance.

"Did you even train?" Lance asked.

"Not really." 

Lance chuckled softly. Keith laughed a bit, too.

"I'm sorry." 

Keith turned to Lance with wide eyes.

"I went to far. I shouldn't have done that to you. But I meant what I said." Lance looked at Keith. "I'll be here for you. If you ever... you know, have a change of thought, I mean, I'll wai- or uh-. I'm not making sense, just forget it." Lance laughed at himself. It was rare for himself to get flustered like this. 

"I'm sorry, too. I know I can get a little hot-headed," Lance laughed, interrupting Keith," Okay, okay, shut up!" Keith spoke without any of the previous anger. Lance looked Keith smiling. "But in that moment, I-" Keith paused, trying to figure out what to say.

"It's okay, I know." Lance replied. Keith looked at him surprised.

"You do?"

"Yeah, it meant nothing. I got that now. I won't do it again," Lance assured. He tried to hide his sadness with a smile. It must've worked because Keith didn't press, instead he turned onto his side. Lance let his face fall. He wanted nothing more than to kiss Keith again. 

"Okay."

Lance sighed and looked down. He busted out with laughter. Keith turned around.

"What?" He asked loudly. 

"I- I know that this is supposed to be a- a heartfelt moment, but we are still in swimwear. It's just ridiculous!" Lance managed to say between gasps. He held his sides as the laughter caused him to double over. Keith stared at him like he was crazy, but smiled.

" _You're_  ridiculous." 

Lance gasped, "I'm wounded! How dare you? You know what! You're um, you're..."

Keith rolled his eyes. "I'm what?"

"You're ridiculous, too!"

"Nice one, Lance." Keith rolled back over. Lance just smiled even wider.  _I think this conversation went nicely._


	12. Two is Better Than One

_I wish I was strong enough_   
_to lift not one but both of us_   
_Someday I will be strong enough_   
_to lift not one but both of us_

_~Keith~_

Keith opened his eyes slowly and shifted a bit.  _I must've fallen asleep._ Something moved on top of his chest. He looked down, but only saw tufts of brown hair. Keith flushed and slowly shifted out from under Lance. He managed to slip out without waking Lance. He turned over to his side and frowned, grasping at the sheets beneath him. 

Leaning forward, Keith grabbed the covers and folded it over so it covered Lance. The blue paladin sighed contently. Keith lingered for awhile, studying Lance. The creamy white sheets laid in contrast of his tan skin. His brown hair was ruffled and stuck out in every direction. It was ridiculously  _cute_.

_I just had to say it was nothing, didn't I?_ Keith asked himself, but he knew why. He's never allowed himself to truly trust someone. The one time Keith got closest to it, that someone went missing on a trip to another planet and ended up being presumed dead. So, yeah, he had trust issues.

Keith forced himself to turn away. He wondered what time it was and if they had missed dinner. The red paladin turned to the table. A tray was filled with the same meal they had for breakfast. Keith sat and ate his fill. After he finished, the bed behind him began to creak. Keith looked over his shoulder, but Lance had only turned around and begun to softly snore. 

He quietly stood. Keith changed into his clothes from earlier and out of the still moist trunks. A brief sound came from the corner of the room. He turned and saw his armor. Keith took a few steps towards it, but before he reached it, a soft knock came from the door. Keith padded along and pressed a button to open the door. An unfamiliar Zryrazian stood there.

"The Queen wants you in the throne room." The servant turned and beckoned Keith to follow. They walked to the throne room in silence. Keith braced himself as he stepped in. The Queen sat at the throne, as usual, and was much more composed than earlier. She scanned Keith and smiled. The red paladin resisted the urge to shudder. 

"So, did you enjoy the swim with your  _companion_?" She inquired.

"It was cold," He put bluntly. Keith was not going to feed the Queen his annoyance. She frowned at the lack of response. 

"You are losing your fire. Pity... I suppose we can go on with today's tests. I'll get my fun somehow."  The Queen snapped her fingers.

Instantly, Keith could feel the process take place. It still hurt, but more like a mere kick to the gut. But he feared more pain would take place.

~ _Lance~_

The blue paladin woke to an empty, cold bed. He sighed and rolled onto his back.  _Should've expected that..._ Lance sat up. He noticed the food on the table. As if on cue, his stomach rumbled. So, he ate to his heart's content and rested his back against the bed. 

Lance glanced around the room. Keith's trunks were discarded on the floor, by the table. Lance's eyebrows furrowed.  _Keith's messy, but I swear, this is terrible._ The blue paladin stood and stretched, raising his arms above his head. He glanced down at his brace and wished he could take it off. 

Slowly, he glanced around. The woman said that his room wasn't safe to talk in.  _Are there cameras or microphones?_ Lance cringed at the thought. Both Keith and him had changed in here.  _Maybe, she just didn't want Keith to walk in on it._ Lance groaned. Instead of taking the brace off, like he wanted to, quickly changed into his old clothes. Lance grabbed the crutch and went out the door.

_Maybe a walk could clear my mind._

Lance walked down the corridors quietly. A small blue light came down in front of him at a corner. 

" _This way,_ " the light said and it floated back in a different direction. Lance followed close behind, glancing around for anyone.  _Well, not just anyone..._  He began to not recognize the hall they were going down. They went through a strange, metal door. He gasped when he saw where they just entered.

The rain still continued to leak down the abyss and it began to soak Lance, but he didn't care. What he did care about sat in the middle of the room. Blue was dented, dirty, and still offline, but still operational; it would just take some waiting. Lance ran to his lion and laughed as he ran his hands along her. 

"How are you, beautiful? Miss me?" Lance whispered, though he knew the lion wouldn't respond. Then something else caught his eye. The Red lion. The particle barrier surrounded it, online.  _You should be up top, not down here..._ Lance felt very unsettled. He turned back to Blue and closed his eyes, keeping a hand on the lion. 

_Come on Blue! Open for me._ Lance peeked through one eye. Nothing happened. He sighed and set down his crutch. He quickly glanced around and confirmed the area empty. Then Lance set his crutch aside and began to climb onto Blue's head and slid open a secret door on the top. He stuck his feet in and jumped in. It was difficult being in the cockpit sideways, but he, thankfully. was able to get his bayard. 

He climbed out and jumped to the ground. Lance glanced at Red and wished he could get his armor from there, but the barrier prevented that. It would only go away for Keith. Lance sighed and turned around. A dark figure stood in the shadows.

"You weren't supposed to find this place... I'm sorry I failed. I didn't want to harm you, but now I must." Marf walked into the light. Lance fumbled for his bayard, but Marf was much quicker. A blast of magic hit Lance square in the chest. His throat tightened to a point where he couldn't breathe. 

His bayard fell from his grip as Lance fell to the ground, gasping and clawing at his throat. A fire grew in his lungs and the pain spread throughout his limbs. He stared at Marf in dismay, of all people, Marf was the last he would've expected to betray him. However, this didn't seem like him at all.

Marf stared at Lance with no emotion. Like a curtain had been dropped over him. Darkness began to tint the edges of Lance's vision. In his last conscious moments, Lance crawled to Marf, but his weak limbs gave out underneath him. The blue paladin reached out and grasped Marf's ankle. A blue light was all that he last saw.

_~Keith~_

Keith sat in a chair while a servant drew blood from his arm. The Queen sat in the throne and watched, mildly interested, while tapping her fingers on the  armrests. Suddenly, an alarm blared and a light flashed on a small device on a table near her. The Queen's eyes widened and she stood up. All the servants seemed to stop everything that they were doing too. 

"Did I say you could stop!" She snapped. "Now, continue while I sort this out. Under no circumstances, let anyone in here, unless it's me!" She demanded and rushed from the room. Keith sat and stared at the alarm. All he could think about was if Lance was involved with this.  _God Lance, I hope you're okay. Please be okay..._ Keith prayed silently to himself. 

The servants forced Keith to stand. His purple limbs were weak from the amount of blood they took. They handed him a slice of dried meat and some more water. Keith didn't want to eat, no matter how hungry he was, he just wanted to get to Lance. Still, he ate swiftly as he knew he would need his strength back. 

After he finished off the last bite, the Zryrazians reached for him, but he snapped. He clawed and jumped on one. Their blue blood gushed from cuts. It had begun to match the throne. Matter-of-fact, the blood seemed to flow to the thrones cracks. That's when Keith realized it was. The liquid flowing through the cracks in the throne was very much Zryrazian blood. It was disgusting. 

Keith continued to fight, but he began to knock them out instead of giving them gashes. He did not want to add to the blood already spilled. After he finished, Keith felt drained. His limbs ached, but he began to leave. Abruptly, a thought came to his mind.  _Lance won't trust me... He'll know I'm a monster,_ Keith thought, looking down at his Galra form. 

_Well, he'll hate me, but I might be able to help him._ Keith ran on to their room. He burst in. The room was empty. He grabbed his bayard and stared at his armor. There was still time, probably, but he couldn't risk it. So, Keith ran out any way. 

He tried reaching out like he did to find his lion. Keith knew it was ridiculous, but hey, it was all he had. He sensed Red first. It was strange. The lion seemed a lot closer than it should. So he ran it that direction. It would at least take him somewhere.

Keith ran, panting as he turned corner after corner in the twisted halls. A large, metal door was revealed after he turned the next corner. Something felt weird. It was as if Red was now moving on her own. Keith couldn't explain it.

Once he reached the door, he pried it open. The sight was something that he could have never prepared for. The first thing he saw was Lance passed out, sprawled on the floor. Red's barrier was lowered and she was standing over Lance, as if protecting him. Another thing was the Queen was dueling with... Marf?

Marf was blasting the Queen with magic left and right. The Queen was barely able to dodge them. She must not have magic as she relied on contraptions around the room and a small blaster in her hand.  Keith knew he should stay out of their way.

But he didn't. Instead, his heart got the best of him. Keith sprinted to Lance. He reached to touch him, but recoiled. He was still Galra. There was no way of knowing if he could control himself. Keith settled for just checking Lance's pulse. It was steady and strong. Keith let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. 

Keith looked up at Red, "Thank you for protecting him." Red purred in response. Keith smile before turning back to the battle. Marf seemed to have the upper hand. He couldn't see the Queen, but with his Galra senses, he could smell that she was hiding behind the damaged Blue lion. Suddenly, she darted out from behind to throw a small object at Marf. She caught a glimpse at Keith and grinned. 

Keith instantly reached to rip the necklace off, but he couldn't. The color swirled to a deep blue to match Zryrazian blood. It felt like Keith was pushed back in his own mind. Something else took over. The Queen pressed another button and sprinted from the room. His body turned to Marf and he lunged forward. Marf's brown eyes widened, but he didn't attack. 

Strangely, he just turned and began to move out of Keith's way. The red paladin growled and activated his bayard. He launched himself at Marf and sliced at Marf's face. The blade cut along the Zryrazian's cheek. Even as the blue blood ran down Marf's face, he did not do anything to harm the red paladin.

_DO IT,_ Keith screamed from the back of his mind.  _Please, before I do something I can never forgive myself for._

Keith felt his face grow wet. He began to wonder if it was sweat or Marf's blood, but then he realized he was crying. Marf noticed it, too. 

"Keith, listen to me. Only you can truly allow yourself to be controlled or hurt by her. It is strong, but not as strong as you! Fight it!" Marf yelled, dodging another swing of Keith's blade. 

Keith's body only growled in response, but Keith only cried harder. Only once in his life had he felt this helpless. The blade swung again, slicing into Marf's arm. He cried out and shot a blast of magic. It appeared brighter though. Unfortunately, it missed Keith completely. Marf fell back against the wall. They were cornered.

Keith raised his weapon high above his head. Before he could strike Marf with the bayard. A shot knocked the sword from Keith's hand. 

_~Lance~_

It was like cold water had dumped over him. Lance awoke to a scene that made no sense at all. As he got to his knees, he saw Marf had an open shot, yet he did not shoot the figure in front of him. Lance tried to yell, but nothing came out. His voice was gone. Lance had no clue what to do, but then he realized.

That mullet... Although it was now more purple than black, he knew it perfectly. Lance looked around and spotted his bayard. He grabbed it and took aim. He had to wait for just the right shot. So as Keith raised his bayard, Lance fired quickly. It ricocheted of the blade, but the force was enough.

Keith turned around to face Lance. His eyes were yellow, but his irises and pupil were still there. His face was streaked with tears. The Galra side of him was clearly angry, but he faltered at the sight of Lance. His eyes wandered down to Lance's bayard, which was still pointing at him. Keith breathed sharply, his eyes darted back to Lance's, but they appeared more sad than angry. They were almost... begging.

Instantly, Lance dropped his bayard and pushed it to the side. He couldn't speak, but he shook his head. Suddenly, Keith tackled him. A low growl emitted from his throat. His hands were on Lance's shoulders, pinning him down. Lance managed to place his hand to the side of Keith's face. 

A teardrop landed on Lance's cheek. Keith pressed his face further into Lance's hand. Another teardrop fell. Lance's smiled at Keith. He had the strongest urge to confess.  _I may actually... like him more than just... well, more than_ just  _liking him._ But he couldn't. 

So, instead, Lance took his other hand and pressed it to the center of his chest. Keith stared at it with his purple eyebrows furrowed. Lance moved his hand to place the tip of his index finger on Keith's chest. 

The red paladin looked at Lance with wide eyes. More tears splashed. Lance wiped the wetness from Keith's face with his thumb. It felt very different. The fur was short, but extremely soft. Lance gazed at Keith with an emotion he wasn't too familiar with. 

"Lance?" Keith whispered.

Lance smiled and nodded. Keith gave a sad smile in return. His hands slipped from Lance's shoulders and they ended up much closer... Only a few mere inches... Keith seemed to lean in, just a little, but surely it was just Lance's imagination, right?

A cough sounded from the side of the room. As if he'd been lit on fire, Keith jumped back. He helped Lance to his feet. Since Lance figured there was no point now, he took of the brace as Keith went to help Marf. 

He peeled the bandage off his cheek when he heard Keith call him over. Lance walked over and stared at Keith expectantly. Keith raised an eyebrow at Lance. The blue paladin furrowed eyebrows.

"Are you going to say anything?" Keith asked. 

Lance shook his head while placing a hand over his neck. Marf understood instantly, but Keith frowned.

"Why not? You-"

"He can't," Marf interrupted. Keith stared at Zryrazian like he had grown a third arm... Or a fifth, anyway.

"What do you mean he can't? Lance?" Keith turned back to Lance. Lance automatically opened his mouth to respond, but shut it when he remembered. The blue paladin pouted.  _I'm practically useless now! All I have are my looks..._

"I hit him with a blast of powerful magic before he healed me of my curse. I'd be surprised if he ever spoke again." Lance paused at that. 

"You hurt him!" Keith glowered at Marf, his sharp teeth bared.

"I didn't want to, but just as you were controlled, so was I. But I had a curse, not that science mush Myble dabbles with," Marf explained.

"Myble?"

"She likes being called Queen. Myble has always hated using names. In the olden days of our species, names were kept to lovers and close friends. She was always more traditional than me." Marf rolled his eyes. "Anyway, she has cursed everyone. Just as she got me, I stole her ability to produce magic. Leaving her to old ways. I hoped that would had helped things, but she has cannibalized our race. She has become worse than the Galra."

"We need to stop her!" Keith began to leave, but Marf stopped him.

"You can't kill her! She may be terrible, but she is the last of my family. I'd prefer imprisonment." 

Keith clenched his jaw, he glanced at Lance briefly before turning away. He walked to Red and rested against her. Lance raised a hand to Marf as if to say,  _Give us a moment._

Lance walked to Keith. He raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know what she did to me. Or what she could do to you, you know." Keith pointed out. Lance thought of a way he could reply. His eyes wandered to Red. An idea popped into his head. Lance pressed his hand against Red, hoping this would work.  _Please let me talk to Keith through you,_ Lance begged Red. She purred as a reply.  _Alright! Thanks!_

Lance looked Keith. He looked a Lance's hand and back to Lance. "What?" Lance used his other hand to point at Keith's hand and back to Red. Hesitantly, Keith copied Lance's position and placed his purple hand flat against the metal.

Lance thought,  _I know what she did. And you were not the only one. Many others before us has been harmed here. Even other Galra._ He examined Keith's expression. He must've understood because he stared at Lance with wide, disbelieving eyes.

_How?_ Keith's voice rang out in Lance's mind. It felt very strange. 

_We can talk about that later. We don't have much time to explain everything. I don't even understand this!_ Lance gestured to Keith's current state.

_She said something along the lines of un-awoken genes._ Lance stared at Keith.  _Okay, not now. I got it._

Lance sighed.  _But Myble is Marf's sister. We can't- Well, you can't just go offing her!_

_She deserves it,_  Keith ranted.

_I know, but there are so little of this species. And that isn't what Voltron is, now is it?_ Keith made a face.  _Is it?_

_...No,_ Keith thought after a while.

Lance took his hand away and made a gesture saying  _Let's go now!_  Keith reluctantly turned to Marf, who was halfway across the room. 

"Fine, it is mercy that Voltron lives by, but she deserves punishment. She has harmed many people, not just me," Keith said. Lance smiled at him.  _That's my boyfr- oops, I mean friend..._ Lance shook the thought away. 

"Great, she is probably in the throne room. We must hurry!" Keith and Lance both retrieved their bayards while Marf waited by the door. Lance met them by the door.

"Ready?" Marf asked, but he was looking at Keith. Lance turned to Keith. He hesitated answering. Lance placed a hand on his shoulder. Keith glanced at Lance. Worry was etched across his face. It was obvious Keith didn't trust himself. Lance gave a reassuring smile while nodding.  _You have me. I'll be there for you._

Keith jerked back slightly, staring at Lance like he was crazy. Lance frowned, but then he noticed the glowing from his hand.

_~Keith~_

Keith was extremely confused. He swore he heard Lance talk, but his mouth didn't move and they weren't touching Red. It was clear as day. The words still repeated in his head.  _You have me_. He looked down at his shoulder and noticed Lance's hand glowed. The light was bright blue. 

Lance followed his gaze and pulled his hand away from Keith's shoulder. He looked as confused as Keith. They both turned to Marf. He also stared at Lance's hand

"Zryrazians can live a long time, but still that magic is still like a legend to me. It's so old and advanced. Nothing can match it. Only one alien race has it, but you can't... They're extinct and only few of them even had the ability... But it would explain why you could rid me of my curse." Marf stared at Lance like he was examining him. 

"What do you mean? Lance is human!" Keith said looking back at Lance. He didn't do anything to prove he was. Nor did he look like he was that surprised. Lance looked at Marf, his expression asked  _What am I?_

"Do you really want to know?" Marf asked, but before Lance could answer, a crash boomed throughout the whole place. "Later, then!" They all ran in the direction of the throne room, where the hardest battle would take place.


	13. Closer

_Remember those walls I built_   
_Well, baby, they're tumbling down_   
_And they didn't even put up a fight_   
_They didn't even make a sound_   
  
_I found a way to let you win_   
_But I never really had a doubt_   
_Standing in the light of your halo_   
_I got my angel now_   
  
_It's like I've been awakened_   
_Every rule I had you break it_   
_It's the risk that I'm taking_   
_I ain't never gonna shut you out_

~ _Keith~_

It was far too late by the time they reached the throne room. Keith didn't really know what she did, but the whole underground was beginning to shake. The ground was so unstable, no one could manage to walk. Lance's arms wrapped around Keith, who turned to look at him. Lance gave a sheepish smile as he was unable to speak. Keith looked ahead to Marf as they stumbled along. 

"What's happening?" Keith yelled over the loud rumbling as he clung to Lance.

"We're rising!" Marf shouted back with a terrified look on his face. Keith was confused but he went with it. Marf was able to handle the unsteadiness a bit more than either Lance or Keith could and went farther ahead. He burst through the doors and ran in. Lance held Keith back before they entered in. He shook his head slightly with a slight begging look in his eyes. 

"Myble! What are you doing?" Marf yelled, steadying himself. The Queen looked over with wide red eyes. She seemed a bit terrified and crazy. 

"I'm letting the Galra know they're here and so are their lions. I finished my tests with the red one. The blue one can rot for all I care. His blood is of the traitors!" She pointed a long finger at Lance. "How can you even talk, much less speak to a creature like him?!"

"Lance isn't like them, Myble. He doesn't even know his ancestry!" Marf shouted as calmly as he could. 

"His kind left us to die!" Lance's arms fell away from Keith.

Keith turned to Lance to see him zoned out. His face was vacant of any emotion. "Lance?" Keith whispered, slightly shaking him. Lance didn't respond in any way.

"Do you even know of his abilities? Not only is he one of  _them_ , but he's a descendant of of the Highest Alchemist!"

The Queen turned to gape at Lance. Surprisingly, her eyes held a different emotion besides blind hatred. If anything, it was more in amazement. Suddenly, it switched back to complete anger. She swiveled back to Marf.

"There's no way!" She glowered at Marf. "That bloodline was ended long ago, along with the last Blue paladin!"

Myble turned around. All four of her hands were moving in a frenzy. Marf yelled for her to stop. She didn't. Marf looked conflicted, but turned back to Keith and Lance.

"I will handle her." Keith glared. Marf sighed. "I promise I will do what I have to. For now, go to your lions. I am sure Myble hasn't harmed Red in anyway. Contact your team. Myble may hold an ancient grudge..." He glanced at Lance with a strange glint in his eyes. "But I believe in forgiveness. Now go!" Marf yelled slamming the door shut. 

Lance faced Keith with a confused look in his eyes. Keith grasped Lance's hand without thinking and pulled Lance along. They began to get used to the shaking and was able to navigate their ways a lot easier than before. Red seemed to have been waiting for the two to arrive as she instantly bent down to let them in. 

Keith reluctantly pulled his hand out of Lance's grip as he sat in the chair and leaned to press a couple buttons on the control board. His purple hands rushed to find the right thing, but nothing seemed to work. Keith groaned and leaned back in the chair, frustrated.

"There's nothing Red can do. The radio signal is too weak." Keith felt drained and useless. He looked down at his purple hands in shame. He wanted it  _gone._ The fur, the color... Everything. Suddenly, Lance reached over and took the necklace in his hand. Keith glanced up at him. Lance looked angry, his blue eyes were glaring at the sinister device.

"I don't think you'll be able to get it off. She-" He was interrupted by the glow of Lance's hand and the chain snapped. Instantly, all the strong, overwhelming emotions faded away.  _Well, besides one_ , he thought as he eyed Lance. Speaking of whom, he turned his gaze on Keith's. His blue eyes widened slightly, but he did not look away. Keith's face flushed.

There is no telling how long that moment would've lasted, but with a sudden jolt, the moment was cut short. Lance looked away and Keith sighed silently. The red paladin glanced over the control board and tried to think of a way to do anything. His helmet might've done the job, but it still couldn't work. Keith glanced down at his hands. They were still purple and furry, as well as the rest of his body was. He thought it would have gone away with the necklace being broken, but nope.

A finger jabbed at Keith's side, shaking him from his mind. He looked up to see and excited Lance. "Huh, you know it's very nice with you being quiet and all." 

Lance gave a small glare, but shook his head. He pointed in the direction of the Blue lion while bouncing a little on his feet. Keith glanced back and forth, clearly confused.

"Whaaat?" Keith asked, cocking his head slightly to the side. Lance placed a hand on Keith's shoulder, but nothing happened. Lance looked at his hand and frowned. He tried again, but was not successful. Keith stared worryingly. Lance tried mouthing the words.

"Boo tyin' as tong tribal?" Keith said aloud watching Lance's mouth. Lance stared at Keith with an exasperated expression to rival Shiro's. Lance tried again, but slower.

"Glue lying has wrong symbol?" Lance through his hands up and instead, pulled Keith, with surprising strength, out of the chair. They ran in front of Blue and stopped. Another strong rumble almost knocked Keith off balance. He turned to glance at Lance. His hands were pressed against the lion's face. Lance's eyes were squeezed shut as he concentrated. Keith didn't know what to do so he just watched Lance. 

_~Lance~_

The blue light flickered strangely from Lance's hands, but nothing seemed to work. It almost made Lance want to cry. He tried to think of how he had been doing this earlier, but it only felt like a second limb to him. Now, it felt like an unreachable object on the highest shelf. The more he reached, the farther it seemed.  _Please, oh God, please!_ Lance begged. He had no clue who he was begging but it didn't stop him. 

_Lance._  

A voice rang out from the back of Lance's mind.  _Abuelito?_ Lance called out in his mind. A very old, faded memory came to his mind. It was one where Lance was helping his grandfather knit a present for his mom. It had been a difficult day for him. His  _friends_  had decided to give him a nasty bruise on his chest and he had nothing for his mom's birthday. But his grandfather decided to take him for the afternoon to spend sometime together. It was almost as if he had known Lance's agony. 

"My dear nieto, you must be strong. I know time's are rough right now and you don't understand. But it will come to you. You must find the strength that keeps your fire burning. See in my mind, your Abuelita was my fuerza. She inspired me so much and one day, I know you will find that too." His grandpa chuckled. "See, you and me are the same, Nieto. We both are a rarity in this world. Our confidence gives us our bravery, but may lead to hubris. You need to be kept in check, especially when you have fallen deep into a rut. Your strength will be found. Until then, keep me in your mind." The last thing he saw in the memory was his grandpa's startling blue eyes along with strange scars that he had always had beneath his eyes.

Suddenly, his hands began to glow. The walls in his mind came down and all his suppressed memories came along with it. Every story his grandfather ever told came back, although the language was no longer foreign to him. It was as if it had been tucked away for a short while. Every little strange thing that happened in his childhood crossed his mind. 

The time where he somehow healed an injured bird. Or the time he saw a fish on the beach lying still. With the tiniest touch, it started to flop again, so he tossed it back into the sea without a second thought. The time where the boys had pushed Lance to far and he lashed back with some strange light. It all started to come together.

_My dear ni_ _ño, be strong._

With that Lance opened his eyes and the light flowed with more fluidity than before. A distant scent of the ocean and garlic knots seemed accommodate the magic. Blue's yellow eyes flickered and Lance heard Keith laugh. He turned only to be captivated by what he saw. Keith's almost-violet eyes were wide with joy and he punched the air, yelling.

"Quinak, yeah! Now that's what we're talking about, Lance!" Keith's gaze was now on Lance. The pride in his eyes was all out in the open.  _That's so unfair,_  Lance thought as his heart seemed to jump into his throat. All he could do was stare at the paladin in front of him and he couldn't confess. His heart sunk back down.  _Oh, yeah. That's right... It was nothing._

Lance knew this was one-sided and unfortunately, he was on the wrong side. Keith looked away from Lance, oblivious and he laughed loudly again. His mouth stretched into the biggest smile Lance had ever seen on Keith.  _Scratch that, I am definitely on the right side._ It was right then and there that Lance decided, no matter what, through heaven or hell, he would always  _love_ Keith Kogane. 

The revelation jolted Lance from his trance.  _Oh, quiznak._

~ _Keith~_

It had been a long time since Keith had been so pumped. Lance had done. He couldn't help but be proud. That's  _his_ Lance. Keith laughed once the lion began to stand onto its feet, its yellow eyes glowing once again. He turned to look at Lance, who was just staring at Keith with an expressionless face, his lips parted just slightly. 

Keith said a quick compliment, nothing too much. Lance seemed to stiffen a bit, but Keith didn't think anything of it. He laughed again. It all seemed so unlikely, yet here it was happening. Once the Blue lion opened its mouth, Lance ran in and Keith followed closely. 

So closely, that when Lance sat down in the chair, Keith was still in front of it when it shot forward. He landed right in Lance's lap. Keith yelped, but he could feel Lance laughing beneath. His hand placed firmly on Keith's.

_You do know we have more important things to do, right?_ Lance's voice rang out in his head. 

"Oh, so you figured out how to do that creepy thing again. Nice." Keith said sarcastically. Lance winked and Keith leaped out of his lap. The blue paladin activated his lion and messed with the controls. The only thing that happened was the sonic cannon forming. He sighed and sat back. Lance turned to Keith and held his hand out. It took a moment, but Keith realized what he meant. Keith grasped Lance's hand firmly and tried to not show any emotion. 

_So, it can't do anything right now, but Pidge talked about adding on to the sonic sensor. The addition would allow it to send pretty strong signals to other aircrafts far away as well as its mapping abilities._

"Would you know how to do that?" Keith asked. Lance shook his head.

_I wish. If Hunk or Pidge were here then maybe. I only heard Pidge go on and on about it. I might have an idea, but it'll take time. By then, the Galra might be here._  Lance frowned. 

"I'll buy you time if I have to," Keith stated. Lance's eyebrows creased slightly. Keith gave a firm stare. "They'll be confused. I still look Galra. They'll focus on me."

_I can't let you do that, Keith._ Lance's voice sounded low. 

"Then let's try this! Do you think you can do it?" Keith threw his hands up and then crossed them. 

Lance stared for a second, but stood anyway, his hand slightly tugged at Keith's. They both walked out, still hand in hand. The rumbling had gone down much in intensity. Suddenly, Lance turned to stare at Keith. He looked strangely at him. Keith cocked an eyebrow.

"What?" 

Lance raised his hand and pushed Keith's hair out of his face. His hand stopped and cupped the side of his face. A slight twinge came from his forehead. 

_You're hurt._ Lance pressed his fingers on Keith's wound. He winced and was about to swat Lance's hand away until the pain quickly faded.  _There._

Lance took his hand and continued to climb on top of the lion. Keith just stood for a second, before reaching up to feel the injury. It wasn't there, but dried blood still was. It was slightly numb. The sensation felt strangely familiar. A loud knocking sounded. Keith snapped his head in the direction. 

It was Lance. He shook his head and smiled before gesturing Keith to follow him. Keith pressed his lips into a firm line while examining the wet surface. The rain was lighter now. With a small, reluctant sigh he began to climb.

_~Lance~_

His heart was pounding and his head was throbbing. He couldn't remember exactly how Pidge said she'd have done it. And he was certainly wasn't freaking out because he accidentally caressed Keith's face. Okay, so it wasn't an accident, but it still freaked him out all the same.  _Jeez, Lance stop messing with Keith like that. You know he doesn't like it. No more,_ Lance thought to himself. 

Once they finally reached the sonic sensor, Lance opened a panel right where Pidge figured it'd be. Keith stopped right behind him. Lance reached out a hand. Keith grabbed it without a second thought. 

_Watch my back, I try to figure this out with little resources and zero tools._  Keith nodded and dropped Lance's hand. He turned and activated his bayard. Lance turned back to the panel and examined it.  _Oh, quiznak._ He'd have to put on his best Hunk/Pidge impression and hope it's enough. He looked at it and prodded at the machinery. It was definitely different from the projects they would work on at the Garrison. With a sudden lurch, Lance was almost flung off the lion. But with no time to spare, Keith had caught him and kept them both steady, which was kinda impressive as the metal was still slick with rain. 

"We've stopped moving upwards," Keith pointed out. He was right, the ground was no longer shuddering. He looked up. Before they really couldn't with the rain and all, but it had finally stopped. A light, cloudy sky was above them, but there was enough light to see the entire building. It was a ship of course. It filled up the entire abyss.  _Welp, at least we know the Galra on here yet._

"We don't know that, yet. Remember Sendak?" 

Lance rolled his eyes.  _He's not here anymore._

Keith examined Lance for a bit, but then decided to turn away, releasing his hold on Lance. He slowly began to climb down. Lance wanted to yell and tell him to stop, but with no voice, he was helpless. He ran forward and grasped Keith's arm before he let go. 

"I got to help Marf. He should've been able to finish it by now. He could be injured or worse." 

_He's fine. Stay here._  Lance tugged at Keith's arm. 

"Lance... Let me go. You'll be fine. I know you'll definitely be to handle yourself. You're good with a gun." Keith's voice wavered. Lance shook his head sharply, tightening his grip on Keith. He wouldn't be surprised if it was bruising Keith's arm, but Keith didn't let it on if it was. He tugged at his arm hopelessly. 

_I can't. I..._ Lance didn't know what he wanted to say.

"Lance, I need to go," Keith said with a quiet voice. 

_WELL, I NEED YOU!!_ Lance was crying now and he wasn't holding it back. Keith seemed taken aback. Lance began to feel weakened. If Keith really wanted to go, Lance couldn't stop him. He knew that. He loosened his grip on Keith's arm. His arm fell from his grip and Lance backed away, wiping at his face. It felt as if the world had begun to implode. Everything seemed to close in. Lance squeezed his eyes shut. His breath was sucked out of him, leaving him to gasp. His body was on fire.

A cool hand suddenly cupped the side of his face. He opened his eyes to see a pale-faced Keith. His skin was no longer purple. Lance stared confusedly. Keith didn't seem to notice his change, he seemed far too focused on something else. He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss on Lance's mouth. His body began to relax and his breath seemed to return as he gasped between the multitude of kisses he was receiving from Keith. 

His back was now pressed against the metal surface of Blue with Keith pressed on top of him. Lance reached up to tangle his fingers in Keith's hair. He kissed back with a fierceness brought on by his fear of this not happening again. Keith pulled away after what felt like a minute, although it was probably half of one. 

His hand wiped the tears away as he continued to stare at Lance with a fond expression. "I'm sorry." He whispered over and over again. It was his turn to start crying.

_~Keith~_

Heavy tears fell as Lance stared at him more confused than before. The way Lance broke when Keith began to leave terrified him. It reminded him too much of how he was when people left him. No one should ever feel that way. It surprised him, honestly. He didn't think Lance cared that  _much_  about him. 

So he lay there on top of Lance, crying while holding onto Lance as tightly as he could. Lance's hands were still in his hair, but now he was slowing stroking it. He was quietly shushing as he let Keith cry into the crook of his neck. 

"I'm so so so sorry, Lance." 

_It's okay._

"No. No it isn't." Keith had calmed a bit. He pulled away and wiped furiously at his face. "God, I'm so freaking emotional."

_You didn't have to tell me that, I already knew that after I first truly met you. Hell, you drove off a cliff._  Keith glanced up at Lance who was smiling. His chest twinged strangely at the sight. He probably would have been laughing if it wasn't for his lack of a voice. Rain dripped from his face. It was certainly a nice sight. Keith could feel himself blushing. Quiznak, he wanted to kiss him  _again_. So he did. Lance gasped at sudden action. 

"I still have to go..." Keith said after pulling away. He rested his forehead on Lance's. He wasn't sure why he was being so intimate with him. That was a lie... Keith knew exactly why.

He was terrified. He had no clue what was going to happen. Anything could happen. Lance could die. So could he. For now, he was making the most of every moment. 

Lance looked into Keith's eyes as if he was trying to figure him out. His hands loosened a bit.  _Promise you'll come back._

"I will. I just want to make sure he's okay. It's seems to quiet for anything to be okay." Lance nodded. Just as Keith was about to turn back. Lance pecks him once more on the cheek. Keith's face went red again. "We have to talk about this later." 

Lance nodded again. Keith squeezed his hand tightly before letting go. He turned and began to leave.

_~Lance~_

Lance had complete faith in Keith, but it still worried him. He watched as Keith left. He still wanted to run and stop him, but he had to trust Keith in his choice. So, reluctantly he turned to the panel once more. Instead of continuing to work, he was completely distracted. His mind kept going back to Keith kissing him. It felt like a dream. 

He silently chuckled. Not even a week ago would he of thought of kissing Keith like that. Lance always thought of Keith as attractive, but not enough to want him like he did now. Or did he? With all this happening, he couldn't recall a time where he didn't feel attracted to Keith. He silently began to wonder when Keith even started to like him. It was insane. 

Lance reached back up to continue his work, but he faltered. The sight before him was quite unbelievable. Nothing had changed or was different. Lance didn't know why or what, but it was certainly strange. The Altean language was typically unreadable for him, but he completely understood the labels on the machinery right in front of him. 

All of a sudden, his mind connected the dots. The revelation made him feel kinda stupid. It seemed so obvious in hindsight. He was part  _Altean._  


	14. Trust Comes With Time

_Death on two legs_

_You're tearing me apart,_

_Death on two legs_

_You never had a heart of your own_

_~Lance~_

His fingers worked deftly, quickly rewiring with Blue's instruction. Before they made no sense but that now he knew what everything was, Lance was able to work efficiently. Although he was about halfway finished, it was taking longer than it should. His mind kept cycling back to Keith. He was worried, so he would rush and when he rushed he made mistakes. 

His finger caught on a piece of metal. "Gah!" He brought his finger to his mouth and gasped. His vocal chords burned, but they seemed to function. It'd be awhile until they'd be fully healed. He silently laughed but rushed to continue. This time he was going to continue to worry, but use it as a driving force. 

Blue purred as Lance got closer to finishing. The overall design was rough and crude. He definitely was not an engineer nor did he have the right tools, but nonetheless he hoped it would at least work. It looked nothing like what Pidge described. Still, he fixed the last wire and secured it. 

Quickly, he scrambled down the side of Blue. Just before he went in he looked up. The sky was darkening, but still empty. It was far too quiet for Lance to feel comfortable. He rushed inside and began to test out the signal. He sent a quick message, hoping it would send. It seemed like it would but then it fell short. It wasn't enough. Lance wanted to yell. Instead, he closed his eyes and placed his hands flat on the control board. He imagined what he wanted to happened and let his body do the rest. The light blue glow returned and left just as quickly as it came. Lance felt slightly tired but ignored it. He sent the message again and this time, it went as far as he had hoped. 

After what seemed to be hours (it was 3 minutes), another message pinged back. He grinned and smiled, he wanted to punch the air and jump around, but he had more important things to do. He read the message and faltered. It confused him. It was in complete Altean, but that's not the issue. It was what it said. 

_Who is this and how have you communicated to us through the Blue Lion? Do you have its paladin?_

Lance frowned and sent another back.  _Um, funny, this is Lance. Tell Pidge that her idea worked, but I improvised._

Another message pinged back.  _Who is this! How do you know this language?What have you done with our paladin?_

Lance was even more confused. English was literally a universal language. How? Lance had no clue. He glanced back at his messages.  _Oops._ He had accidentally typed it all out in Altean. The buttons were Altean, yes, but there was a translator that the Lion's had that let the paladins understand. Although the message was also sent in English. But like Lance said, it's universal. Blue must've turned it off once she had realized he could read it. 

He quickly sent another, this time in English.  _Sorry. If you need convincing... you activate my particle barrier._ He cringed slightly, that hadn't been one of his best lines, but he figured it would work.

_Lance!_  He wanted to laugh. He wasn't sure if it was Shiro talking about his pickup line or if everyone was happy to see him. It was probably the first one. A second message came through.  _Wait, how did you send that in Altean?_

_Listen, where are you guys? What's taken you so long to get back?! We have Galra on the way and a big issue._  Lance sent.

_We'll explain it when we get there, but we have a problem. The planet was enveloped into an advanced space pocket. It's unlike any Galra technology I've ever seen before... If it is Galra tech, anyway. We need it unlocked and opened from the inside._ The message made Lance feel anxious. He hated the feeling of being trapped inside something that even his team couldn't figure out. Lance sent a final message before running out of the lion.

_Consider it done._

Lance ran up to Red, but realized he wouldn't be able to get his armor since the particle barrier was up. He sighed and was about to leave when a certain sound made him turn back. The particle barrier had lifted away and Red leaned over for Lance to step in. The blue paladin smirked and rushed in. When he made to the cockpit, he made haste to pull on his damaged armor. It wasn't much, but it was better than loose clothing. As he left, he made sure to run his hands along the walls, mentally sending a message thanking Red. The lion replied with a message that made Lance rush even faster. 

The red paladin had found himself some trouble.

_~Keith~_

After he had left the room, his hand instantly ran over his mouth. He still wasn't sure why he let himself do that, but the memory was still vivid in his mind. He quickly shook the thought away. The halls were littered with rubble, but surprisingly all the Zryrazians he saw before were nowhere to be seen. No servants. Nothing.

There weren't many before, but there were still some then. Now the halls were eerily silent. Keith stepped over a large piece of rubble before entering the room he and Lance had shared. His armor had been knocked to the ground but, otherwise, was still intact. He rushed to pull it on and adjust it. Keith ran after he had finished pulling on the last piece.

His feet moved swiftly around rumble and rushed to the throne room. Unfortunately, a very large group of Myble's servants blocked the way. Every single one was armed, but had the same glazed look Marf had before he was freed from the curse. That meant they were all innocent. Keith couldn't harm or kill any of them. He suddenly wished that he didn't have a sword.

Almost on cue, his bayard shifted to a bat. He almost wanted to laugh, but couldn't. The group converged on Keith. He felt like crying once his eyes fell on a small child. Matter of fact, there were several of them. He dodged them and swung at a larger opponent. As soon as the bat collided, the Zryrazian fell into a heap on the floor.  _Great, one down, about two dozen left._

Keith felt massively overwhelmed, but he had managed to knock out a handful. They were easy to take out with one hit, but that was if you could actually  _hit_  them. Most of the time, he swung at thin air. The Zryrazians were the quickest race he had ever encountered. Even with his precise instincts, he only managed to hit them when he faked a swing and went the other way, catching one off guard. However, they were now learning his technique and adapting to it. It was just a matter of time until Keith would be overpowered. 

He realized he was slowly being pushed to the corner of the hall. The little kids that he tried so hard to avoid were kicking and clawing at his legs. His armor was protecting most of his skin, but their sharp claws ripped into the under-suit, tearing gashes into his calves. Keith cried out in pain and darted to the side, he kicked off the side of the wall and it gave him enough momentum to jump over the crowd. Keith felt bewildered, but when he looked down at himself he knew why. He was in Galra form again. It was quite strange as he had shifted twice with no pain. 

Keith had no time to ponder over it, as the Zryrazians instantly were at him again. His Galran abilities did nothing to truly be effective in the fight. It gave him a moment's advantage, but otherwise, there were too many. One managed to slice his side open and that was it. Keith was knocked to the ground, but just before he was ultimately killed or worse, a bright light filled the corridor. He squeezed his eyes shut, a dull headache throbbing from its intensity. 

Once he looked up, he saw no one other than Lance.

_~Lance~_

He almost wanted to laugh at the shock on Keith's face, but he was injured, so he decided to do that another time. Lance stumbled his way around the unconscious bodies to Keith. By the time he reached there, he saw all the deep gashes Keith had sustained. He placed a hand on his uninjured shoulder.

_Sorry I wasn't quicker, but Red didn't tell me where you were._ Lance quickly healed Keith's wounds. A wave of exhaustion overcame him, and he stumbled a bit. He looked to see Keith staring at him with  _that_ look.  _What!_

"I don't think you should be doing that so carelessly." Keith looked worriedly over Lance before adding, "And what do mean about Red saying something about me?"

_Says the one who tried to take on a whole crowd! Besides, if I'm so careless with it, then explain to me how I managed to use it to get in contact with our team?_ Lance crouched beside Keith, completely ignoring the question about Red. 

"You talked to the team?" It was more of an exclamation than a question. Lance nodded. "Well, what'd they say?!"

_We need to open a space taco._

Keith cocked an eyebrow in confusion, "A space taco?"

_Well, you know what I mean._

"I do?" Keith asked incredulously. 

_Like with Ulaz?_

"Oh, so like a space pocket." Keith crossed his arms, "Or a space fold... Or whatever Pidge called it."

_Yes, my point exactly, but I like the sound of space taco._  Lance thought of Hunk. Keith must've noticed the shift in Lance as he didn't press any further.

"Well, let's get to Marf, as that was my plan in the first place." Lance nodded, and they began back on their way. Thankfully, no one else seemed to appear. Once they opened the doors, they entered the empty room. Blue blood was smeared along the walls and floor. 

Lance covered his mouth with his hand as he was at a lost for words. His eyes began to burn with tears as his senses were overwhelmed with fear and worry. Keith reached over and firmly grasped his free hand. Lance looked over at Keith, thinking of how much it would hurt if something happened to him or anyone he truly cared about. Without even a second to spare, Lance was completely in Keith's embrace. He stood stiffly in his arms, confused and unsure of its purpose as Keith awkwardly hugged him. Suddenly, even more emotions, that he had not been aware of, took him over and he began to sob. He lost the tension in his body, and he completely put all of his weight on Keith. His throat was raw already, but it seemed to worsen as sobbed into the crook of Keith's neck. 

Honestly, he felt embarrassed by this, but Keith had seemed to understand Lance was hurt before even he did. His free, gloved hand rubbed circles into his back. Lance came back to a calmer state and just let himself rest in Keith's arms. Surprisingly, Keith knew exactly what to do. He didn't back away or force Lance to "man up" and focus on the mission. Instead, he let Lance take his time to calm down. Lance backed away, but his hand still held Keith's.

_You're a freaking liar._ Lance thought to Keith, the "voice" was quiet and weak.

"What?" Keith asked gently, although he was obviously taken aback. 

_I swore you once said you couldn't handle people when they're upset._

"Well, you've given me some good examples on what to do over this time we have spent together doing this."

_Are you saying I taught Keith, the best, most prodigious pilot of our generation..._ Lance smiled softly as he spoke.

"Will you please just stop?" Keith asked slightly exasperated but anyone could tell he wasn't really asking Lance to stop. 

_...Learned something from me?! Someone who is just a cargo pilot._  Lance thought to Keith. The playful tone remained, but he felt too drained to smile.

Keith rolled his eyes, but firmly said, "No."

Lance quirked an eyebrow in confusion.  _What?_

"Not just a cargo pilot. You were a fighter pilot. And now, you're a paladin of Voltron and my friend at that." Lance snorted. "What now?"

_Friend?_  Lance asked suddenly with a frown.

Keith shifted uneasily but stayed silent. Lance stared at Keith a while longer, but he turned back to the mess of the room. They had more important things to worry about than their personal issues. 

_We should get back to what we need to be doing._ Lance looked over at the machinery on the wall.  _She called for help. See, that dial and it's turned to the symbol that looks a lot like the Galra's usual symbol. I remember reading somewhere the Zryrazians had stuff like that for an emergency signal. Just like an emergency button on Earth._

"Is this what we'd use to open the pocket?" Keith asked, wanting ask how or where Lance learned any of this, but they lacked the time for it. Lance looked the machinery over. Something seemed off.

_I don't think so._ Lance let go of Keith's hand and moved forward to look at it closely.

"Need a little help?" A voice that Lance hated very much rang out from behind them. He reluctantly turned to see Myble. She had a deep cut along her cheek and an even bigger gash in her side. Her face was twisted into an exhausted grimace. 

"Where's Marf!?" Keith asked whilst activating his bayard.

"In a terrible state." She said in an tone that had both Keith and Lance confused. She looked up with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. The druids..." She groaned painfully. "I was unstable, jealous of my brother... They took advantage of it." She turned completely towards Keith. "I won't ask for forgiveness, but I must ask for a favor."

Keith stared at her with disdain. Lance could tell he didn't believe her. "Why should I help you?"

"I know you don't trust me. You shouldn't. But if you want to be safe, lock me up somewhere. What they did to me, it isn't gone. My brother didn't... He wasn't able to fix it. So at any moment, I will lose all ability to control my actions." Myble faced Lance. "Please." She begged with a watery voice. "My brother's hurt and so many of our people are... I can't do it again. Please!"

Lance took Keith's hand.  _We have to get to Marf and help him._ He didn't know whether Myble was being honest, but they didn't have much of a choice.

Keith yelled, "Well, what about our team!? They come first!" Lance flinched at his tone. He had old memories to thank for that. Keith must've noticed his reaction because he quickly apologized but the damage had been done.

Lance shook his head,  _It's fine._ He pulled his hand away and walked to Myble.  _Hopefully, she's telling the truth and will help us._

_~Keith~_

Keith felt bad. He didn't understand how yelling had affected Lance that way, but it hurt him when Lance didn't say much after he apologized. Instead of pushing it, he just walked away to the side of the room. The corner was much darker so he hoped Lance wouldn't notice the wetness on his cheeks. Lance had looked at him with disappointment.  _You've lost him._ Keith tried to shake the thought away, but the voice nagged,  _He doesn't care for you._  Keith knew better, but the idea of it still hurt.

He wiped his face viciously and looked up as he saw Lance and Myble silently conversing. She had the smallest, barely visible smile upon her face. Keith doubted Lance noticed it, but it bothered Keith terribly. Suddenly Lance turned to Keith. He silently hoped his eyes weren't red. Lance didn't look as upset as he had before, but he walked with some sort of hidden emotion.

Just as Lance reached him, Keith reached out his hand, but Lance had something else in mind. His hand cupped the side of Keith's face, his thumb wiping away a stray tear Keith had missed. Lance gave a hesitant smile. Keith couldn't help smiling back although he faltered slightly. God, it was so cheesy, but that was Lance. It was as if Lance had read his mind and took away his doubts with a single gesture. That trait was something Keith was fond of. 

_I need you, Keith. Will you please trust my decision to help her?_ Lance asked with pleading eyes, his hands moving to touch Keith's hair. His long, slender fingers twisted and played with the dark strands.

Keith sighed, he looked over Lance's shoulder at Myble. The smile was gone from her face, but something still put Keith off. Maybe it was the strange glint in her eyes or how she acted was far too perfect, but it too much all the same. He looked back to Lance and suddenly noticed how small the space was in between them. His face flushed, but he didn't move. 

Firmly but quietly, he replied, "I may never trust her, but Lance..." Keith paused, thinking his next words over carefully, "...There will never be a day where I don't trust you." His hand came up to rest over Lance's. "And I think- No, I know you know why."

Lance's face simultaneously lit up and went red. There were things still left unspoken between the two, but Keith knew the both of them felt somewhat the same. Or at least he hoped so. It'd be embarrassing if he was wrong... and painful. So much had happened these past few days, it almost seemed like a feverish dream or a terrible teenage movie moving way too fast. Myble made some sort of noise in the back of her throat so Keith backed away from Lance but caught his hand in his.

"So what are we doing now? The Galra may get here at any second." Keith looked at Myble, not even bothering to hide his probably rude stare. 

"I can take the blue paladin to the switch to open the pocket while you stay here and prep the armory," Myble supplied, undeterred by Keith's glare. 

"Not happening. Lance stays with me."

_I can handle myself-_

"I know you can, but I'd feel a whole lot better."

_We need to get to Marf and get this done! Splitting up would be the best!_

Keith gritted his teeth, thinking it over. Myble stumbled across the room towards Lance and by instinct, Keith raised his bayard right to her throat. She made a pathetic sound that sounded a lot like a wounded animal. He glared at her, not thinking about what he just did. 

"I just wanted to know what he was saying." She weakly said gesturing to Lance. At the mention of the Blue paladin. Keith glanced over, and it quiznaking  _hurt_. Lance had a look of disbelief and almost terror etched across his face. It almost made Keith drop his sword. Just almost.

_Keith..._  Lance thought quietly, almost hesitantly, into Keith's mind. He placed his tan hand carefully on Keith's arm and slowly lowered the blade away from Myble's throat. Keith backed away slightly, shrugging off Lance's hand. 

"What if Lance goes to help on Marf while you and I stay here to open the fold? That way Lance could most likely heal Marf. You would know how to open it right?" Keith asked carefully. Myble looked like she had tasted something sour, but nodded her head briefly. Keith looked at Lance for his confirmation. He nodded, although he still looked at Keith strangely. "Is there anyway we could have some form of communication?" Myble looked over at her lab. 

"I don't think I really have supplies for-" Myble was interrupted by a small tap Lance made on his helmet. 

Keith sighed, "Mine's broken. I wouldn't be surprised if your's was too." Lance frowned, slightly upset, but he looked around at all the blue lights surrounding the room. He looked back at Keith with a suspicious smile. Lance placed a hand on Keith's.  _Watch the lights, okay?_  Although he was quite confused, Keith nodded. Lance smiled softly at Keith again before moving his hand from Keith's to Myble's. 

"He'll be located near the training room." She said aloud to Lance. He pulled his hand away and turned for the door. He was just about to leave when he quickly ran back to Keith, embracing him tightly.  _Be safe._  And with that Lance left.


	15. Fire to Ashes

_Scared my love, You'll go, Spend my love Heart broke, So my love don't show, Scared my love, You'll go_

_Too good to be good for me, Too bad that that's all I need, Too good to be good for me, And too bad that that's all I need, All I need_

_~Keith~_

All of the shakiness and sweetness from Myble's voice had vanished. She decided to sit back on her throne saying Keith should press a few certain buttons and pull the lever, but Keith refused.

"Lance said it wouldn't work from in here," Keith firmly stated.

"Well, he's wrong, simple as that." Myble sneered, angering Keith. The red paladin was just a bit too close for comfort to punching her in the face. Instead he took a deep breath and tried to figure out the system. Instead, Keith began looking around the room instead of at the control board, thinking in the mindset of Myble. Or at least trying. It was hard. 

He thought back to how she messed with him. There was the necklace, or in this case, the space pocket. Then, there was the piece she used to control it. There was the alarms set in here and stuff monitoring it, but no controls. She had a remote when his Galra form had completely turned primal, but that seemed too easy and simple for  _The Queen_. Something blue caught in the corner of his eyes. He turned and the throne was sitting there. He recalled how the blue from the ritual had flowed  _to_  it. The blood literally flowed it the cracks. It was perfect.

Until he realized Myble was no longer there, but by the time he had realized, it was too late. The door slammed shut behind him. He ran to it and banged on it, but it didn't give away.

"No!" Keith screamed and kicked. He knew it was hopeless, so he turned back to the throne. He looked it over and ran his hand over it carefully, trying to avoid getting the blood on his hands. He had no clue how it worked or if it was the actual control center. Keith backed away and tried to think of ways to get it to work. It seemed the more Keith tried to think of a way, the more his head hurt. He groaned in frustration and kicked the throne with all his strength. 

To his surprise, the throne fell apart. It had felt pretty strong and sturdy despite the cracks when Keith had felt it earlier. But the strong scent of the blood gave Keith the answer. In his frustration he must've shifted into his Galra form. It was quite shocking that when he wasn't forced to shift, it didn't hurt. The thought of him uncontrollably shifting, on the other hand, terrified him. 

Keith shook the thought away and went to hopefully find a way to fix the problem at hand.

_~Lance~_

Lance ran to the training room, but nothing seemed disturbed. No blood or damage to anything. The sight of it was almost as unsettling as the throne room. Out of all the rumbling and fights that had occurred, this room was practically untouched. It was too clean and perfect. 

Lance opened his mouth to call out, but the slightest use of his vocal cords burned. So he was just left with trying to find him on his own. Just the brief minute of being there gave Lance a bad vibe so he quickly left. Instead, he made his way down to the light that had previously helped him, Kleas. Once Lance stood in front of it, he reached out a hand to it, letting the light emit from his hand. The light flowed like water toward the other light. It swirled and twisted like the creeks he used play in after he had moved away from Cuba. The light slowly shifted to a Galra woman. She seemed drained of energy. 

 _"You shouldn't've wasted energy on awakening me,"_  she spoke taking a step down onto the floor in front of Lance. 

 _I need your help,_ Lance explained through thought, hoping she could hear it. Kleas quirked an eyebrow. 

" _No voice, huh? You know you can simply heal it yourself due to your ability to control quintessence."_

 _I know, but I am trying to save most of my energy._ She gave Lance a strange look. 

 _"For Keith, I presume?"_  She asked, although it sounded more like a statement. Lance flushed but nodded with no shame.  _"What do you need of me?"_

_Protect Keith. Help him and if you can, let me communicate with him through you and the lights._

Kleas seemed uneasy with the request but nodded without hesitation. " _I can do that, but I may go in and out of my forms..."_  Kleas stopped speaking abruptly. " _What if he doesn't trust me?"_

Lance thought about it for a moment, but quickly told Kleas what to say to gain his trust. She seemed confused by what he said, but didn't question it.  _Before you leave, would you know where Marf is. He is the sibling of the Queen._

She shook her head.  _"Sorry, I only just awoke since last time I saw you. But I can tell you that I since a weakening of quintessence nearby, so hurry. It should be to my right of here."_ Without wasting anymore time, Kleas vanished it to the lights. Flickering signaled her traveling back to the throne room. Lance went in the opposite direction.  _Away from Keith,_  Lance thought, but still he pushed on.

Suddenly, a bright blast of light erupted in front of him. The force of it flung Lance aside, his head hitting hard against the wall. Pain blossomed and it made him feel dizzy. Lance made an attempt to stand but slipped on blood that decorated the floor. To his dismay, this blood was red, not blue. Lance reached up to tenderly touch the back of his head. His hand came back with warm blood on his fingers. Shock and adrenaline must've made it numb, because the pain seemed to fade to just a typical throbbing. 

Lance looked up to see Marf pressed in a corner, his face twisted with pain and horror of what he had done. Gashes and cuts were everywhere. A large gash above his eye painted his gray face blue. His skin was far paler than before. His legs were bent strangely in way that made Lance feel sick just looking at it.

"Lance, I'm so sorry, I didn't... I wouldn't have if I-" Lance just raised a hand to silence Marf. Lance crawled his way over to Marf as he was unsure of his legs' capability of walking. Marf looked at Lance with his large brown eyes, an emotion was clearly displayed, but Lance was oblivious to. It was pure infatuation, but however, it was an emotion Marf had never felt before. "Why did you come back for me?"

 _We need you. And it's Voltron's job to help everyone._  And there it was. Marf's face fell, but he quickly hid it with a more serious face.

"You and Keith were able to take care of Myble, right? I've come to terms that the best thing to save other lives is if we just... you know..." Marf said, changing the subject and well as feeling a little worse for giving up on his sister.

Lance furrowed his eyebrows in confusion,  _What do you mean?_

"After Myble managed to break my legs, she ran. I assume you've seen her, yes?" Lance's stomach dropped.  _Keith_ , his mind instantly imagined Keith spread across the floor in a puddle of blood. Lance wanted to pick up Marf and run to Keith. Instead, he decided to place a hand on Marf's legs to heal him. 

Just as his hands started to glow, Marf freaked out and pushed Lance away. Lance stared at Marf in shock. " _Don't_  heal me!" Lance tried again, but, even in pain, Marf was able to push Lance away.

 _Why not?_  Lance asked confused. 

"Don't you know what you're doing to yourself when you use you abilities for something other than yourself!?" Marf asked, wincing as his wounds had reopened from his jerky movements. "Lance, you could kill yourself if you aren't careful. You are giving away your own quintessence! Which takes a long time to replenish itself."

Lance sat back. He had never thought of how he was able to heal others or how he managed to knock out all those brainwashed Zryrazians. The only person other than himself that he had healed was Keith. Lance wondered what that meant and how it worked. Was his quintessence now mixed with Keith's? Lance felt a little uncomfortable about that idea. Or had it just healed him, but dissipated over time? That felt a little better, but Lance still felt a little uneasy. 

What Marf had said would explain why Lance felt tired each time he used his abilities. It also gave insight to why Lance felt just a bit off. Almost like he was missing a part of himself. He looked back up at Marf.

 _Then what can I do?_  He asked, hoping to be useful in some sort of way. 

Marf smiled with his eyes starting to glaze a bit, placing a hand on Lance's cheek. "Go back to him. Finish this."

Lance quickly shook his head.  _No. Not happening._ Marf pushed a pushed a strand of Lance's hair behind his ear. 

"Such strange ears..." Marf sighed, meeting Lance's gaze. He looked down at his torso and Lance followed. It made him want to throw up. Marf's other three hands had the wound covered, but once he moved them out of the way, Lance could truly see why Marf had given up. A wound went from one side to the other. He didn't know how deep it was, but blood continued to flow slowly, showing no sign of stopping. Lance looked back up at Marf, wanting to cry.

"It's okay. I'm quite old anyway. I don't know how ages in your hybrid species work, but us Zryrazians live for a long time. I may be young in my race, but old in Altean terms, and they live quite long, too. I'm old enough to remember Altea and when it had its downfall. When it fell, we were doomed too. Ask Myble, if you can. She maybe more biased, but then you will know..." Marf trailed off as his thumb ran over the area under Lance's eyes. 

He gave a small smile and leaned forward. Marf hesitantly pressed his lips on Lance's cheek. "I'm not sure if that's exactly how you do it, but there is a token of my appreciation. My enchantment is wearing off, so my wound will kill me within the next few minutes. But you need to know  _Lance_ , my short time spent with you has been quite extraordinary. I hope to see you again." Marf smiled with sorrow.

Lance nodded,  _I'll see you later, **Marf**. _ Tears fell relentlessly down both of their faces. He honestly didn't know how to feel. He had no clue Marf had felt anything towards him. But he could sense Marf was only asking of friendship now. Lance wished the universe would know of the man who was in his arms now. Lance held Marf until he had his last breath. There was no way Lance would have left him alone. So, instead Lance held him, humming the song his mama used to sing to him when he had nightmares. Marf watched Lance with dazed eyes as he felt himself getting heavier and heavier with exhaustion. He didn't fight but instead let it carry him slowly to where he was going next, wherever that may be.

Once Marf's eyes closed with a small smile still on his mouth, Lance pressed a kiss onto his forehead.  _I will never forget you Marf of Zryraz._ Lance got up and after holding Marf's hand an extra second, he moved on. Tears were still falling down his face when he reached up and began using the light to send a message to Kleas.

_~Keith~_

Keith had gotten kinda gross as his arms were coated with blood as he tried to find something past the rubble of bloodied marble. In his Galra form it seemed a lot easier to move the stuff, but it caused the smell to be even worse. He felt terrible and miserable as he moved the stuff around. Suddenly, a ghostly hand reached past him to move a piece.

Keith screeched all while flying backwards. The ghostly woman had a strange look once she was staring at Keith. He noticed the ghost was Galra and jumped to his feet. 

" _Please, I mean you no harm,_ " she said with a pained expression. 

"How do I know that?" Keith growled.

" _Lance remembers the bonding moment. The one where you cradled him. He said you'd understand."_

Keith furrowed his eyebrows but then realized what she was talking about. "That... Did he  _really_ say that!? What are you anyway?"

The woman seemed to get even more pained, " _A ghost, I think that's a proper term."_

Keith stared for a moment. Suddenly, without warning, his body shifted back into its human form. It caused Keith to have his breath knocked out of him due to the brief pain. The ghost caught Keith from falling over, but her body acted almost as if it was about to fade. It shocked Keith that she was even able to touch him.  _Ghosts can't do that... Can they?_  Keith thought to himself. 

"Something's wrong." Keith groaned. His skin burned and itched. It especially hurt on the scar that Myble had given him when they had made the deal. In the distance, Keith could hear rumbling. 

 _Kleas!_  A loud voice rung out, making Keith almost jump out of his skin. A light nearby seemed to be the origin of it.  _Kleas? How's Keith?_  It said again and this time, Keith recognized the speaker. 

"Lance?!" Keith rushed over to the light. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

 _Jeez, mullet._ Lance said, sounding broken.  _One thing at a time. Besides, I'm physically okay...ish. I wounded but not seriously. But Marf... He..._ Lance cut off. His voice was shaky. Keith could tell it was taking everything for Lance to even try to act normal. Keith thought of saying sorry, but it wasn't enough. He had enough experience with losing people to know it wasn't. He really hadn't gotten to know Marf as well as Lance did anyway. It still hurt, but he knew Lance probably hurt more. Instead of saying something about Marf, he put himself into a mindset he hoped Shiro would be proud of and gave Lance important information. 

"Watch out for Myble! She sneaked out and locked me in here. But your ghost lady-"

_Kleas._

"- Kleas, right, okay. Well, she's here too." 

 _You can see her too?_  Lance asked slightly surprised by the fact. 

"Yeah..." Keith crossed his arms and turned to Kleas. She stared strangely at Keith. Matter-of-fact, she had been staring at him like that quietly since he had shifted. "Anyway," he said turning back to the light, "I am hearing rumbling, so I think the Galra are here. I don't understand how the got in past the team and into the fold, but they managed as they always do." Lance stayed silent so Keith continued. "Could you manage to get back here and open the door?"

" _I can. Lance, stay where you are. Myble will want you more than anyone. I'll explain why when we meet, but stay put!_ " Kleas demanded, breaking her silence. 

_Okay. Keith?_

"Yeah?"

_Be careful._

"You know me, Lance. You said so yourself that I tend to be careless."

_I don't remember that, but still... Please Keith..._

Keith thought for a second, feeling bad for Lance. But he shook the thought away. Lance was strong and Keith knew he would be able to handle himself. "For you, Lance... I'll do anything," Keith finally replied after a few seconds.

The light faded a bit, so Keith assumed Lance had gotten off. He turned to Kleas. She had turned away, examining the door. She glanced over at Keith with the same look in her eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Keith asked, slightly bothered.

" _You are so familiar to me. Like some people I used to know before I..."_  Kleas stopped. She tore her eyes away from Keith. " _You and Lance share a profound bond. It also reminds me of the them too."_ She looked back to Keith. " _I don't have enough time to tell you everything."_  She replied sadly. 

"Who are they?" Keith asked. Kleas pressed her hands on the door. Her overall light seemed to converge on her hands and suddenly the metal doors broke open. After she finished, Keith noted that she seemed to glow less than before. 

" _Old teammates of mine._ " Her light flickered as she looked at Keith with a fond expression. " _I knew they loved you so much. I never met you, but I see them in you."_

"My parents? You knew them?!" Keith asked, excitement and wonder built up inside of him. Kleas nodded. 

" _My nephew... I never knew I'd meet you. I didn't see it in you, when you were human. But Galra, you are so much like your mother. So beautiful. Afterwards, I could see your father in you, but I guess I didn't see it before."_ Kleas confessed as they both began on their way to Lance.

Keith stared bewildered at Kleas as he jogged and she just flickered through the lights. He had unknown family, right there with him. But of course, she was just a ghost and after this, Keith would lose her just like everyone else. Keith suddenly realized Kleas probably thought Keith still had both of his parents. He thought of telling her, but she seemed so happy, Keith decided otherwise. He focused on getting to Lance instead.

_~Lance~_

Lance walked into a nearby room and looked around. It seemed to be a normal bedroom. The room definitely looked more comfy than his and Keith's was. Once he was sure it was empty, he went back out and picked up Marf's limp body. He carefully placed him on the bed and put a white blanket over his body. Lance wished he knew the Zryrazian burial practice to give Marf a proper funeral, but he knew nothing of the sort. He backed away and stared at the covered form. Out in the distance, he heard Keith and Kleas. Keith was calling his name repeatedly while Kleas's flickered made an echoing sound. 

"Lance! Where are you?" Keith called again, this time a lot closer. Lance had never felt more exhausted but he couldn't help running to Keith. He sprinted out the door, after the noises. As soon as Keith came into view, he started sprinting too. This time there was no one refraining. They met halfway, colliding with a large enough force to probably form some bruises, but neither truly cared. Keith's hands ran all over checking for any injuries. He kept mumbling about something that Lance couldn't hear over the distant rumbling. Lance just watched as Keith fussed over every scratch and how his armor definitely wasn't enough. In that moment, Lance surprised himself as he realized he was smiling. It wasn't a face splitting grin, but a small, soft one that reserved for no one other than Keith. 

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith and pulled him close while pressing his face into the crook of his neck. Keith went quiet. He just put a hand in Lance's hair, running his fingers through it. When his fingers came out covered in fresh and dried blood alike, he sharply inhaled, trying to check it without forcing Lance to move.

"Lance, you're hurt." He said, pressing a gloved hand over it in an attempt of stopping the flow of blood. "Heal it, please," Keith begged when Lance made no movement to do anything about it. 

Lance took a small step to look at Keith. The red paladin just stared up at him, unsure of what to do. Lance, on the other hand, knew exactly what he wanted. He pressed a gentle kiss on Keith's slightly open mouth. Keith made a soft noise, but kissed back nonetheless. It a lasted a few short seconds, but it was enough to give Lance the right amount of energy to heal himself. Once they parted, they just stared at each other, both oblivious to how the other felt, but sure of their own feelings. It might be just a crush now, but it was definitely heading somewhere. Lance reached a hand up to run his fingers across Keith's face and was slightly surprised when he leaned into the touch.

A sudden flickering in light caused them both to realize they had an audience. Kleas shifted awkwardly, hardly meaning to have interrupted them. Lance looked back at Keith who hadn't even bothered to move away. It baffled Lance, but they had more important things to do besides being dramatic. 

"Where's Marf?" Keith asked quietly. Lance suddenly drooped again. He felt terrible for leaving him behind like how he did. But now, there was not enough time. They had to figure out how to open the pocket without the Galra getting in the way, which was inevitable. 

 _No time._  Lance began in the opposite direction. Keith stared at Lance in dismay, but followed anyway. Lance knew he probably seemed different. Hell, he felt different. It was like he broke all over again. Suddenly, a hand caught his own, giving it a firm squeeze. Lance turned to Keith. He could tell he was concerned, but Keith acted like he wasn't. Instead, he just walked next to Lance, but made sure to let Lance know he was there. It kinda took his breath away.

Lance laced their fingers, holding Keith's hand tightly before letting it go. As much as he wanted to hold Keith's hand, he needed his bayard to be ready. He put his hand next to his leg to summon it from his armor. He activated the gun and held it with it pointing ahead of them. Lance heard Keith activate his sword as well. They finally reached the throne room. Lance peeked in and held his gun steady. 

Lance waved his hand signalling it was clear. They moved in. He turned to Keith with a questioning look about the shattered throne. He just shrugged. 

"I thought it might've been the control center." Lance just stared at the mess. He set aside his bayard and got on his knees to closely at it.  _I guess that could make sense._  Lance shifted pieces aside to get to the middle of the pile. His ran across a piece that felt very different from the rest. 

He moved the rubble aside and examined the engravings on it. Keith got on his knees next to Lance, and watched as he ran his hands over the ridges. It was a foreign language that Lance recognized from his grandfather's storybook, but it wasn't Altean. Surprisingly, Lance could barely make out some stuff. It was almost like the more he stared at it the more it just came to him. If the throne hadn't been shattered, he might've been able to work it since the blood powered it. Now, Lance would have to find a different way to power it. Unfortunately, Lance knew exactly how he was going to. 

Lance sat back sighing. He peeled his gloves off and set them aside. Lance pressed his hands flat against the cold metal. "Wait, wait! What are you doing? Is that the control?" Keith asked. Lance nodded. "So what are you doing then?" Lance looked up at Keith and gestured at it. Keith sighed. "I hate to say it, Lance, but I really miss your voice." Lance gave a small smile. 

"Power it," Lance barely whispered while pointing at the object. His throat hurt badly, but it managed an extremely hoarse voice. Keith's eyes widened slightly at it.

"And how are you doing that?" Lance stayed quiet. "Lance? You aren't... Oh god you are, aren't you?!" 

Lance placed a hand on Keith's.  _I have to or we're stuck here. Just watch my back._  Keith looked like he wanted to argue, but he got up anyway. However, instead of looking out, he kept his eyes on Lance.

He placed his hands on it again and closed his eyes to focus. The energy flowed from throughout his body to his hands. As the quintessence transferred to the device, Lance felt exhaustion begin to weigh him down. Once the device charged, Lance pressed his finger into a notch in the device. He opened his eyes to see what it had done. Lights lit up along the indentations displaying options. Lance looked around it to try to find the right one, but Kleas got there first. 

" _This is it. I remember my team pressing a button like that. I might've recognized it earlier if there wasn't such a mess."_  She seemed a little duller than usual, but Lance didn't mention it. He pressed the button and got back from it. The device glowed like it was processing the command but it suddenly went out.

Lance frowned while Keith stepped forward, looking at it. "Was that it?" They both glanced at Kleas.

" _I don't know I-"_  

"-Was already taken care of." They all spun around to see Myble. With a wave of her hand, Kleas formed back into a ball of light. Keith doubled over, crying out. Lance rushed to help him, but Keith pushed him back.

"I can't- won't- control myself- Gahh!" Keith yelled out. His skin shifted back and forth from purple and white. Fur sprouted and would suddenly go back under his skin. Lance couldn't even begin to imagine the pain he was feeling. 

"You see, the necklace was mostly a façade. A working one, but I always have a back up." She smiled, turning to Lance. "It seems to be just us two now." 

Lance glared while clenching his fists. He wanted to scream and yell so badly, but his throat felt so raw that Lance knew it would be pointless. Instead, he picked up his bayard, ready to shoot. She had taken enough already. However, it was immediately flung from his hands. He watched helplessly as it flung across the room.

"Come on, don't be like that," she drawled. "Fight like the druid you are...  _Highest Alchemist_." She spat the title out like venom. She blasted magic at him and Lance cried out as it grazed his leg. 

Lance raised his hands, but they spluttered magic uselessly like drops of water. Myble cackled and teleported. It was extremely differed from how Haggar or any of the other Galra druids would. It was like she became a ghost herself, shifting between two images that moved to quickly for the normal eye to follow. A strange mist covered her, blurring her so Lance couldn't see what she was doing. Another blast hit him out of nowhere.

"So pathetic," She spoke, coming from all directions. "And you... A paladin? I don't see it in you." Her voice was suddenly right next to his ear. 

"Stop it!" Lance rasped, grasping at his head in frustration. Another blast shot at him, but he dodged in time. Unfortunately, it hit Keith instead, who was already occupied with enough pain. It made him snap as he watched Keith cry out. His flesh was sizzling, giving off a terrible aroma. Lance yelled out and magic filled the room, almost as if a storm had blown into the room. 

"Hah! There we go!" 

Lance was tired. It all weighed down on him, but he had to do this. He cried out, "Why are you doing this? We didn't do anything to you!" She suddenly darkened.

"Your stupid race abandoned us! I have every right to kill you! We were allies, but the Alteans betrayed us! Leaving us to them! The Galra!" She pointed at Keith, "They're even worse! Using us. Making us slaves. Forcing me to betray my brother because of his stupidity. Forcing me to steal souls right out of living people." 

"You weren't forced. You're just a monster!" Lance's voice cracked with every word and his throat burned like he had swallowed a thousand needles. His magic weakened and the storm came to a stop.

"Ah, there's the downfall to your magic. Using your life source up. Must be painful... I can fix that." Myble cocked her head to the side.

Lance collapsed. His breathing was labored. His mind was fuzzy and unable to comprehend the situation happening around him. A bright light heading in his direction. Then there was Keith, next to him, bleeding out. And Myble just lying on the floor, deathly still. Lance couldn't figure out what happened, but the sight of Keith gave him a burst of energy. He had to get to him and make him safe.

_~Keith~_

Keith was injured badly. Blood ran down the side of his face, but he didn't seem to notice. Lance picked Keith up into his arms.

 _Come on, Mullet. Let's get out of here._  Keith pushed at Lance, groaning.

"No, no, no. I'll be fine... Get to your lion, fight the Galra," Keith slurred. He pushed at Lance again. Lance would've thought he was fine if it wasn't for how he was talking.

 _Keith, you're my priority here. I'm not leaving you until the team gets here and even then, I am not straying from your side_ , Lance said sternly. Keith stared at him. His gray, almost-purple eyes met Lance's gaze. A cold hand pressed against Lance's cheek.  _I suppose this would be a bonding moment. Am I correct?_  Lance softly laughed with his breath, but it caught in his throat.

Keith suddenly frowned and attempted to speak again. " _Lance._  Fight... 'n protect who's left. Voltron's duty... is to help." Keith blinked slowly, his eyelids growing heavy. "Fine," He stressed while pointing at himself. "Please go." Keith didn't know how or when, but they were suddenly outside next to the lions.

Lance set Keith behind a broken slab of concrete. Blue eyes looked at Keith in an almost begging way. The red paladin gulped. He looked over Lance's shoulder at the wreckage and suddenly an intense feeling overcame him. The red paladin abruptly fell over and emptied his stomach's contents. The pain had stopped, but it scared Keith. It had been so long since he had felt this numb. His eyes began to droop again.

Darkness had begun to seep into Keith's vision. Panic overwhelmed him as he suddenly clung to Lance's arms. He squeezed tightly, not ever wanting to let go. He wished the pain to return, just so he'd have the hope that he'd survive this. Lance stared worriedly at him, his eyes were watering and Keith had the feeling it wasn't from the smoke in the air burning them.

"He-hey, you know  _none_  of this was just no-nothing to me... Right?" Keith asked with tears overflowing from his eyes. More blood seemed to flow from his wounds. The crimson began to stain the floor beneath him, tainting the stark white color.

 _I kinda figured,_ Lance smiled shakily. His face wavered slightly and that was enough for Keith to know the smile was Lance as much as it was for Keith. He appreciated what he was trying to do.  _You did full-on make out with me when I had that panic attack._ Keith laughed at that, but was caught off at the sensation of pain. It felt comforting. A tear that was not his own fell onto his cheek. He focused on Lance again.

His blue eyes were slightly red and were flowing with heavy tears. Lance's body shook with tremors. Keith now knew why he felt pain. Lance's own cuts were now bleeding again as he strained to heal Keith with what strength he had left in him. It was not much. Lance's hands flickered a weak blue light. It was extremely pitiful and it made Keith want to cry even more. He had finally decided to open himself up to Lance, but would now be torn away again.

"Lance..." Keith warned with a watery voice, but Lance didn't stop. "LANCE!" Lance looked up with his now bloodshot eyes. Keith's voice may have well been liquid at this point as well as inaudible when he spoke, "Just stop." His voice broke. He had given up on himself at this point, but Lance just  _wouldn't._  They were both bawling their eyes out at this point. They now both understood that this was most likely the last time they'd see each other alive.

Keith placed a hand on the side of Lance's face. This is the last moment he'd share with Lance, so he wouldn't let his eyes even stray for a moment. His hand felt the soft and impossibly smooth skin he would only feel this once and give it its proper attention. He took in all of Lance's features, trying to find a way to memorize it all. Lance stayed silent as he watched Keith do this.

His fingers happened to run over a scar that was just under Lance's chin. The slightly raised, jagged skin reminded him of the first time he realized his feelings. That bomb had almost taken something away. Something that he didn't even know he had. Something that would become his first priority over all things. Something he never wanted to  _lose_.

Then there were his ocean blue eyes.  _Now, I won't talk about drowning in them, they are so much better than that crap._  You could look into his eyes and see yourself reflected right back, because that is what he brings out of you. He doesn't change you, but rather made your average self feel like a million bucks. Like you were truly worth all the pain in the world. But now, when Keith looked into Lance's eyes, he could see all of Lance's pain up front and it was far too painful to see. It was almost staring into a sun, strangely beautiful but too much to take in all at once. 

Keith knew he could talk a whole book about Lance's features. Like how beautiful Lance's mouth is. How it's practically always in a lopsided smirk that make you want to kiss him so quiznaking hard because it was one of the few ways to get Lance to shut up. Even though Keith would admit that he misses Lance's voice. The slight irritation Keith could catch in it when he teased him. Man was it addicting. It was the same with his laugh. Now that he could definitely go on about for ages. He didn't want to ramble too much, but he definitely had a lot on his mind. One thought in particular was extremely important.

His mouth parted to speak, but it was too late. The temporary healing Lance had accomplished had become undone in the time he took to just think it instead of saying it. His adrenaline was nonexistent and the pain seemed to fade to a heavy numbness. Keith was falling back into the darkness but he clawed and fought to hang on.  _Come on. For Lance, come on!_

But the battle to be fought was too much. He tried to speak again, but choked on the blood rising in his throat. Lance was now yelling in agony, but Keith couldn't hear it. He had begun to slip. Lance pulled Keith tightly into his arms, cradling the dead weight. Keith's eyes closed, but he was still there. Faintly, but still there.

Lance didn't notice. He cried. Pressing his face against the side of Keith's, mumbling the same phrase over and over again. "I love you- I love you- Oh God, I love you, Keith! I love you! Oh my God, Keith... Please... I-" Lance's hoarse voice broke, his sobs racking his whole body.

Keith felt sad. He wanted Lance to know he heard. He wanted to live just so Lance wouldn't be hurt. But that wouldn't happen. He wanted to tell Lance that he heard him and that he-  _No, don't even think about it now... It's far too late to say it now... Much less think it._ So, Keith let himself fade into the dark, thinking.He knew that life doesn't bless everyone with happy endings. Keith had known that from the very start. He knew no matter how you clawed and fought or how good of a person you are, you aren't automatically given a happy ending. Life doesn't do that.

It just  _doesn't_...

~ _Lance~_

Lance had realized Keith was still alive after he felt a faint, weak thump against his nose that was pressed against Keith's neck. He almost cried out in joy, but he was still worried. Keith could go at any moment, it was only a matter of time. Lance looked up at the sky. It was extremely dark and the only light came from the blasts of fire and explosions. Strangely, that was all he saw. No Galra or anything. But it made him feel better about keeping Keith safe. Their team would be back at some point, but Lance would only wait until dawn to make up his mind, but that was so far away as it is. Lance  _knew_ Keith wouldn't make it until then. 

He thought of running to one of the lions and taking off, but they would be abandoning the planet with innocent people possibly being killed by the Galra. Lance knew neither of them would be able to leave like that. It was either the planet and thousands of people or Keith. Innocent women, men, and children or Keith. Only one person against thousands, yet Lance still wanted run. To be able to save something. However, he knew Keith would never forgive him. 

Lance thought of how Keith had confessed how much all of this was for him. Lance lied when he said he knew. Of course he didn't. The thought of someone actually loving him was an unbelievable thought. Yet, there Keith was. The perfect miracle of a friend. Or something. An almost something perhaps, but after this, nothing more would ever happen.

So, Lance took the time to memorize all of Keith's features. His soft, yet now tangled, raven hair that Lance just adored, although it was now dripping with blood.  _Of course, now Keith will never know that I don't hate that stupidly cute mullet,_ Lance thought to himself. Or his lips that ever so rarely smiled, but when he did smile, the world seemed just a little bit better. A little bit more worth living in. Oh quiznak, how nice they felt when he kissed him. Lance laughed but broke a little more when he thought of it. Lance ran his hand down to hold Keith's. He wished he could save at least someone. They lost Marf. Lance didn't know if Myble was good and turned bad by Galra or truly bad, but she was lost, too. Lance had failed to keep the Galra out. But this he would not fail, he decided. Oh no, he'd lose, but he wouldn't lose Keith. Not ever.

But he wanted- No,  _needed_  Keith to live. He needed Keith to make it past dawn. Lance needed Keith to know he was loved and that he was needed like how Lance had needed it when he was younger.  _At dawn_ , he thought to Keith,  _you will know how much I love you..._  Lance prayed Keith heard. Lance looked up at the sky, waiting for it to lighten as he held his fingers on Keith's pulse. It felt as if it was weakening with each second. 

_At dawn, you'll be free._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks sooo much for reading!! There is most likely only one chapter after this, but I might do an epilogue, too, but I haven't decided.


	16. A Lover's Lament

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter I will explain where this goes off from the canon story. Basically, it is between the episodes The Blade of Marmora and The Belly of the Weblum

_Lord knows I failed you time and again_  
_But you and me are alright_

_We won't say our goodbyes_  
_You know it's better that way_  
_We won't break, we won't die_  
_It's just a moment of change_  
_All we are, all we are_  
_Is everything that's right_  
_All we need, all we need_  
_A lover's alibi, yeah_

_I walked a minute in your shoes_  
_They never would've fit_  
_I figured there's nothing to lose_  
_I need to get_  
_Some perspective on these words_  
_Before I write them down_  
_You're an island and my ship_  
_Has run aground_

_~Keith~_

In a field of red tulips and myosotis, Keith wandered. It was dark here. A raging fire was in the horizon all around. The gloominess made Keith think of it as Hell, but he felt far too safe and comfortable for that to be true. He picked up a stray, blue flower nearby. Something about it pulled Keith in. One of the petals were scarred, but Keith didn't think any less of it. 

He sat in a spot bare of flowers, thinking of how he had gotten here. Time almost seemed nonexistent as his surrounding stayed in a constant shade. Keith couldn't remember what he was previously doing before this. He recalled Voltron. He remembered Zarkon and their endless battle against him. But last thing he could come up with was being on a new planet and something being wrong with Lance. 

Lance. There was something with him that had happened. He couldn't remember. It was something important. Keith looked down at the flower again, running his finger along the ripple in the petal. A forget-me-not. How coincidental this was the flower he had plucked when his memory was fleeting him. How long has he even been here? Keith turned to the dark red sky that was impending on him. A looming sense of danger struck into him. Why couldn't he recall?! It frustrated Keith pointlessly. 

Suddenly, the sky was cracked open by a bright blue light that fell down in a waterfall. The surrounding flames went deathly still as if watching the alluring light. It moved in a dance that Keith recognized, but he couldn't place. As it hit the ground, it weaved through the cracks in the red earth. Forget-me-nots seemed to be absorbed in the liquid light and the tulips thrived, standing tall in the water. It passed around Keith in a teasing, playful way. 

Mesmerized, Keith reached out and let his fingers barely graze the enchanted water. It sent an electrical shock up his arm, but soothed him at the same time. He could hear a distant humming, low and silvery. It sounded like a lullaby, but it had the opposite effects on Keith. Instead, it evoked an emotion deep inside of him that made his heart thump quickly with delight. The light from the water had filled the valley, but suddenly, it was a sky. 

Keith blinked his crusted eyes a few times before the scene before him was clear. He awoke from the dream. The air was sharp and cold in his lungs, but it felt... dewy. The sky was a light blue, but the suns painted the clouds yellow and pink and circled the skyline with a golden halo. It was now dawn. 

But in all that, there was  _Lance_. Their hands were intertwined. Magic swirled around them in a mixture of flames and water. Keith couldn't tell where either began or ended, but he could sense the exchange of a dark energy.

"Lance? What're-" Keith croaked but then saw his body. The blood was still there, but the burnt flesh was weaving together into lightly scarred tissue. However, the injuries were now plaguing Lance. His face was pale and gaunt like a corpse. "No." He mumbled in his daze, realizing the situation. "No, no, no, NO!" He groaned. He tried shaking off Lance's hands as he was slowly regaining his strength.

But Lance was determined. Barely audible, Lance's voice rasped, "I'm not sorry, Keith. I'd take anything over losing you. I couldn't heal you with what strength I have left-" He broke with a gasp. "-But I can take your place." The painful tone in Lance's voice made Keith struggle even more.

But too much of the damage had been done by the time Keith got him off and it was only because Lance fell over, unable to hold his own weight. Keith caught him before he landed. "You idiot, why did you do that!? I'm an orphan, Lance! I have nothing left for me! You have a family and a home back on Earth!"

Keith placed a hand on Lance's cheek. It was cold. Lance only stared up at Keith, his eyes still shining. He smiled,  _Home._  He shakily placed his hand on top of Keith's, but his eyes shifted.  _Above us._  Keith spun around. In the heat of the moment, he hadn't heard or seen the approaching aircraft next to them. The Castle was landing next to the Zryrazian ship. Keith turned back to Lance, but he wasn't awake. 

"Lance?" Keith said quietly. His hand fell to Lance's neck. Nothing. "Lance..." Keith felt heavy. He prayed this was only a nightmare he would wake from.  _It's not real. Not real. Lance is somewhere else being goofy and kind and having the time of his life with his terrible jokes. Not here, not dead._ Keith shook Lance, screaming. He couldn't remember what he said, but all he could remember was pain. 

Keith began doing CPR hastily. Thankfully, the movements were engraved into his muscle memory from training at the Garrison. The instructors had made it mandatory to learn what to do in these sort of situations. He pushed on Lance's chest with all his weight. He repeated until he reached 30. He tilted Lance's head back to open his airway and then leaned over. He pinched Lance's nose and pressed his mouth against his. He still felt warm, but a coolness was beginning to set in. Keith watched Lance's chest rise in the corner of his eye as he gave two breaths. He did another 30 chest compressions and then checked Lance's pulse. Still nothing. He kept going even though he heard the Castle land. 

Time appeared to be rushing by, but logically, Keith knew it hadn't even been a minute. He leaned over again to give mouth-to-mouth breathing, but he broke. It felt wrong. Lance was so  _cold_  and it was nothing compared to his usual warmth he brought everywhere with him. Frustrated and terrified, Keith hit Lance's chest hard. Nothing. 

A new type of fear settled into Keith. One he had never felt, not even with Shiro. It gripped him tightly, pulling the air out of his lungs as his eyes flooded. He felt numb as if he was  _dying_. He felt like screaming and breaking everything in his vicinity, including himself. However, at the same time, he felt like he was imploding and as everything was crashing around him, he felt helpless.

A hand gripped his shoulder, pulling him back into reality. He knew it was Shiro but Keith pushed him off. A memory of a certain pair of blue eyes staring gave him enough strength to do one last thing. He slammed his fist straight down on Lance's chest, not caring if it broke his hand. The force was definitely worthy of bruising. 

For a brief moment, he swore he saw a flash of light, but quickly realized it came from a reflection in the blood. But there was still... Nothing. The fear erupted in Keith's chest again and pain bloomed. Shiro's hands grabbed him, and began to pull him away, speaking, but it was muffled. 

Suddenly, a sharp intake of air caused them both to halt to a stop. 

Keith's eyes widened as he saw Lance's chest rise on its own. He stumbled over, out of Shiro's hold, and went to pick him up, but Shiro stopped him. Instead, Shiro took Lance's limp body into his arms. Keith knew he was still weak, so he didn't fight Shiro, but he sprinted along side of him as they ran to the Castle. 

_I am not straying from your side._

He helped Shiro and Coran as they placed him in the healing pod. Keith wanted to cry out in joy.  _Lance_  had a  _chance_. Keith then realized Lance would've loved how that rhymed and he would be confused to as why Lance loved it. Now,  _they_  had a chance. The corners of Keith's mouth twitched at that thought. 

Everything moved quickly as they rushed, but finally he found himself standing outside the pod with Hunk who was crying now that Lance was back. He hugged Keith bone-crushingly tightly. Pidge had visited, but left just as quickly. Keith assumed it was because she didn't want to be seen crying. Normally, that would've been Keith as well but he didn't care at the moment. He cried in joy and yet he stayed, not caring whether he looked like a blubbering idiot or not. Shiro stared strangely at him, but was sent off somewhere to talk with Allura and Coran about a request Keith had made. Shiro tried to get Keith in a pod, but he refused until they accepted his request. 

"I knew you would've kept him safe." Hunk's now hoarse voice brought him from his thoughts. He held a bowl of goo that was for Keith, but he was far from feeling hungry. So, instead, Hunk took it, not wanting it to go to waste.

"What?" Keith asked in mild shock. 

"I know how much he means to you. Just like how he means to me," Hunk explained, "It may be a bit  _different_ , but we'd both do anything for him. From me doing stupid stuff with him at the Garrison to you staying behind to find him." 

Keith stayed silent as he tried to understand what Hunk meant. Hunk continued on. "The only thing that worried me, was if he'd give himself up for you... Because you mean a lot to him, too." Keith held his breath, staring at Hunk confused, yet somewhat bewildered. Hunk noticed the look Keith was giving and he groaned. "You know, I did wonder why you two had the exact same injuries, but most of yours are now scars. It didn't make much sense at first... it still doesn't, but I'm sure there's a reason." 

Keith didn't hear what Hunk said at the end. He was too busy thinking of how Hunk would've known that about Lance. The only plausible explanation would be that Lance had unknown feelings for Keith before the mission. He looked at Lance through the blue glass.  _It would explain the strange rivalry he went on about. But then he should've realized it was mutual after the_ bonding moment _. Unless, he actually didn't remember..._  The door at the back of the room slid open, pulling Keith from his thoughts once again. Both boys turned to see Shiro and Allura walk in. 

"Keith, I will do my best to accommodate for the request as it is noble, but for now, you have a pod to get into. Besides, a night or two in the pod should be sufficient enough," Allura said with no emotion. It startled Keith for a moment until he remembered Allura had been acting like this since they all found out about his... condition. walked across the room, her white hair bouncing lightly with each step. Keith couldn't help noticing the redness of her eyes or the darkness under her eyes. She must've been worried about them... or more specifically Lance and the lions. She pulled one up and pressed a few buttons before beckoning Keith inside it. He briefly nodded before turning to Hunk.

"Watch him for me? Anything happens, I want to be out of pod  _immediately_." Keith stressed the last word, pouring all conviction he had into it. 

Hunk nodded solemnly and Keith sighed. He stood and walked across the room. Keith stopped just before it and turned to look at Lance once more. Keith didn't notice the exchanged looks between Shiro and Allura, nor the knowing glance Hunk gave him. Hesitantly, he turned around and stepped in. The door immediately closed as Keith faced back out with his eyes closed, sending him into darkness.

_~Lance~_

He had no choice. It was dawn and there was no sign of the team, yet. Keith's heartbeat was so unsteady and weak, it felt like it could stop at any moment. He was honestly surprised, but thankful, that Keith had lasted this long. Lance glanced up at the lightening sky. The golden glow of the sun had just began to peak over the hills and mountains. 

He wasn't sure when the bombings had stopped, but he was sure he hadn't seen a single Galra ship.  _Maybe there was no Galra and it was just to distract us or the Castle_ , he thought slightly confused, but decided to ponder it later. Besides, the only Galra he saw was the one in his arms. Lance looked back down. Keith's face was pale and bloody. Lance had attempted at cleaning the blood off, but it only made Keith bleed more. So Lance had settled for keeping Keith calm. Time to time, Keith would start to shake and his breathing would go quick and shallow. The only thing that seemed to keep him calm was for Lance to sing and run his fingers through Keith's hair. 

It wasn't the song he hummed for Marf, but one that Abuelo taught him. Lance only knew half of it as his grandpa died before he had it fully memorized. He never knew what it meant as the language was foreign, but Lance knew now that it was in Altean. He didn't know why it came to his mind, but as he sang it, he understood why. 

_Don't cry dear, the end is near._

_We may be lost, and we need to pay the cost_

_For the mistakes we have made, in a lack of aid._

_But I will pay the price, although it won't be nice,_

_You will be saved, and live on what my death has paved._

_But for you, anything is worth the pain, as it is my bane_

_To keep you alive and as well as all, as I near my fall._

_As you are the light and strength in my fire,_

_Like I am your stability and flexibility like water,_

_We are a pair, but we must part and fare_

_For life is hardly fair_

Lance sung although his voice was hoarse and it hurt like hell. The more he learned the Altean language, the more he saw slight similarities between it and English or Spanish. Almost as if Altean was a sort of universal counterpart to any language. So, it didn't surprise him when it rhymed even when translated. 

A loud noise from above made his voice falter. He saw a light dot, the Castle, coming through the atmosphere and knew it was time. Lance intertwined his hands with Keith's, feeling the pulse slowing to a stop. He summoned all the strength he had and let it flow to his hands, but it wasn't enough. It started at his elbows, twisting and weaving like water. But slowly, as it got closer to Keith's hands, the magic turned into flickering flames. Lance decided to continue despite the pain that began to form in certain parts of his body, but hummed instead as his throat became raw again. 

He watched as Keith's eyes opened, but they were still glazed over with confusion. Once he wasn't dazed, he fought and struggled, but Lance had finished most of it in the end and fell over. Keith called him an idiot, but it only made him smile to be able to see Keith moving and hear his voice. Then he said something along the lines of him not having a home and how Lance has one on Earth. But Keith had a home. With the paladins... with Voltron... with  _him_.

As for Lance's home... he left it behind long ago in fear of his parents realizing who he was. To run from the pain of his loss. For the longest of time, he'd still get so homesick that it affected his ability as a paladin. Hunk was the closest thing he had to family in space, but even then his face was a reminder of what he left behind. Keith, however, gave him a distraction. The competitiveness they shared kept Lance occupied, but as they spent more time together, the more Lance came to appreciate him. 

After the issue with Sendak and being cradled in Keith's arms, he realized it was so much more the simple appreciation. But he forgot it. It took a long while, but the memory eventually resurfaced, but he never told Keith. He felt terrible. Lance didn't want to push his feelings onto Keith like that. So, he hid it was cockiness and flirty jokes to Allura. He made more useless competitions between him and Keith to revamp their "rivalry", but his attempt was fruitless. 

Once Keith and Allura ran off after Zarkon kept tracing them somehow, it twisted the feelings again, but Lance managed to ignore them. Unfortunately, after Keith went to the Blade of Marmora's base and had an issue where his lion acted up, a different feeling pulled at his heartstrings. He almost thought Keith was going to die, but he came back with an injured arm and the news that he was Galra. The Blade of Marmora made a plan with Voltron that would go into effect months later, but they liked being prepared in advance. 

And that was what brought them here. The Blades believed there was a race of people here under the Galra's control, but they had valuable technology that could be harnessed for the upcoming fight. Coincidentally, a distress signal came from the planet, although it came from a very different species. They came in expecting full Galra fleets, total destruction, and carnage. And the recent events happened, leaving Lance more muddled. Keith liked him and Lance fell even further for him. Literally, after he fell into the abyss. 

Everything that had happened. Everything he had shared with Keith. Keith had become  _home_. A person he could go to, be who he was, say what he wanted, and possibly be loved. Keith may say certain things, but Lance now knew. What he was doing now was worth it.  _Home_ , he thought to Keith as Lance touched his hand, but he noticed the ship above them. Accidentally, he mentally commented,  _Above us._  Keith turned around, oblivious to what Lance had truly meant. Darkness tinged at the corners of his vision, sucking him under before he got the chance to see Keith turn back around. 

_~Keith~_

Keith kept seeing it over and over again. Kleas disappearing, Marf's still body, and Lance taking Keith's injuries. It was a vicious cycle, but out of nowhere, it stopped. Replaced by soft, hesitant lips. A pleasant warmth settled in his stomach. His first kiss. A smell of fresh water and rain. Suddenly, it turned sour. Rain turned to tears and his lips were cold. A chill ran over his body and he was falling over. 

And he landed on his face. Groaning and holding his face, Keith opened his eyes to a dark room, lit only by two healing pods.  _Just a nightmare,_  he thought to calm himself. He glanced around the room. At first the room seemed to be empty, but then he noticed a green slipper poking out from the side of Lance's healing pod. Keith shakily stood and stumbled quietly. 

Once he turned around the pod, Keith saw Pidge asleep with her computer sitting in her lap. Her glasses were set askew and her hair was messy. Dark bags puffed out from underneath her eyes, giving her a much older look. Keith closed her computer and set it aside. Even though he knew he should wait for his limbs to wake up, he scooped Pidge into his arms. Thankfully, her small form was easy to carry. He carried her to her room.

Fortunately, the door opened for him. So he carefully maneuvered his way through the messy room. Keith gently set Pidge onto her bed. Without disturbing her sleep, he slipped her glasses off and set them on a nearby box. Keith pulled a thick blanket over her, making sure to tuck it around her a bit.

He was almost out the room when he noticed tear-stained pictures on the floor. He would've ignored them to respect her privacy, but three caught his attention. Obviously, there was the one of her and Matt, but one was of her and Lance attempting to set the game system up in some weird, complicated way. If one looked closely, they would see Hunk's head stuck in a piece, but no one noticed at the moment until a few seconds later. 

It was a moment Lance had laughed about for weeks. Eventually, with Hunk's help after he was freed, they did. The next one had Lance making a weird face with Pidge making a deadpan face. Keith didn't understand why, but he silently chuckled at it. Maybe it was the way Lance's eyebrow was quirked and how his pout stuck out or how done Pidge looked, but it made him feel happy looking at it. 

Keith moved the photo to the back of stack and glanced at the next one. His small smile fell. It was slightly blurry as if it was hastily taken in secret and by the looks of it, it probably was. It was of himself staring at Lance in a way that it made Keith want to go back in time and slap himself. For some reason he turned the photo over and in Pidge's scrawl it said,  _I told you it was mutual. Now where's my 10 bucks? ;) -P_ Keith frowned.  _For one, did that really mean Lance had felt something? And two, why would Earth money have any value when they were in space?_

Keith glanced at Pidge's sleeping form. Quickly, he took the photo and walked to his room. He promptly got into his regular clothes and walked back to the healing pods. Once he got back, he settled down in front of Lance's pod. Lance's face was clear of any emotion and far too still for Keith's liking, but at least the color had returned to his skin. Keith pulled out the photo again, running his finger over the water damage. Pidge must've really missed Lance. He carefully stuffed the photo into his pack. Although he just woke up, the darkness of the room got to him, lulling him back into a deep slumber.

-

Keith was stirred awake by a light shake. His eyes opened to look at a blurry image of large brown eyes. The bright lights forced him to squeeze his eyes shut.

"Marf?" Keith mumbled, attempting to sit, but was pushed lightly back.

"Barf? Do you feel sick!? I can get a bucket!" Strong, beefy arms quickly dropped Keith as heavy footsteps thudded away and back. Confused, Keith forced open his eyes and saw Hunk pushing a bucket into his arms. "And don't worry I won't puke, I'll keep my eyes shut to be sure of it."

Keith lightly chuckled. He felt comforted by the strange, yet usual situation. Hunk stared wide-eyed at Keith's reaction. "I feel mostly fine, only a little hungry."

Hunk stared a moment too long, but quickly spoke, "I can make you something! I don't think Coran's up yet so you won't have to suffer through his terrible concoctions."

"Some regular goo's fine, you don't-"

"Yes, I do. I insist, especially after all you have been through," Hunk presses. His brown eyes softly glared at him to agree. 

"Okay." Keith weakly threw his hands up in defeat. He glanced at Lance's pod.  _His_  injuries still hadn't healed, leaving Keith to wonder how long it would take for him to heal. Hunk's eyes followed Keith's gaze.

"You can stay here if you want."

Keith turned, "Huh?"

"While I make the food, you can stay in here," Hunk said, a line of worry creasing in between his brows.

Keith nodded, "Yeah... Okay, thanks." Hunk smiled gently and patted Keith's back before leaving. Once the doors closed, Keith moved closer to Lance's pod. He stood to where he was just a few inches below Lance's eye level. Keith raised a hand and gently laid it on the glass. It was cool to the touch. A sudden streak of warmth ran down his cheek, causing Keith to falter. He hadn't meant to start crying, but suddenly his cheeks were damp with tears. A lump formed in his throat making it difficult to breathe. 

Keith pulled his hand back to wipe away the wetness. Although the room was cold, he felt like he was burning up as if he had fever. He pressed his palms into his eyes hard, curling his fingers in his hair.  _It's all my fault. I should've let go so he couldn't_ steal  _my place._ Breathing deeply, Keith took a step back. He knew Lance wouldn't want him to feel this way, but it was impossible to not feel it. 

The doors slid open behind him and Keith quickly changed his posture and wiped the remaining tears off. A hand clasped his shoulder.  _Shiro_. Keith turned to face him. He gazed carefully at Keith. His eyebrow were lightly furrowed and his lips pressed thin. Stress was evident across his features.

"What happened out there?" He asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. It's the people on this planet that you should worry about." Keith turned away facing Lance again.

"Allura's settling it. For some reason, they don't seem to like her, but with the Galra situation, they are coming within reason. For now, I would like to help you since you look like you need it."

"I'M FINE!" Keith snapped. Shiro was taken back, looking more worried than before. Keith winced, realizing he just made it even worse. "Sorry, just ignore it," Keith mumbled.

"Keith... I haven't seen you act like this since-" Shiro cut off. But Keith knew exactly what he was going to say. "You're not the type of person to react like  _this_  so openly and I'm confused. I won't press you for answers, but I want you to know it might be better to talk it out than to bottle it up like you usually do." 

Keith didn't respond, because he knew Shiro was right. He usually _was_. Keith just didn't want to talk about it. Keith's gaze landed on Lance. No... He  _couldn't_. It wasn't just his decision, it was Lance's as well. Everyone, or so he assumed, believed Lance was completely straight and obsessed with pretty girls like Allura. And Keith didn't want to expose it to anyone without Lance knowing first. 

"I might tell you one day, but for now, I don't want to say anything,He finally said after a silent few seconds. Keith didn't notice Shiro's sideways glance at Lance and then back to him. 

"Okay," Shiro concluded ending the discussion. He then stared at Lance's pod strangely. This Keith did notice.

"What?" Keith urgently asked, not bothering to hide his concern. He glanced at Lance, but nothing seemed to be wrong. 

Shiro shook his head and quickly turned back, beginning to run out of the room. Keith began to follow, but was stopped when Shiro shouted, "Stay there! Keep an eye on Lance."

Keith felt a familiar sense of dread settling in his stomach.  _Oh, quiznak_. His heart picked up, furthering the effect of his already present anxiety. He turned looking closely at Lance and then the pods stats. Nothing seemed wrong until he saw  _it_. Once he noticed it, Shiro was back with Coran and Allura. 

"How long has it been like this?" Allura demanded, staring at Keith first with a firm glare as if it was his fault. Shiro replied to save Keith from getting in a fight with Allura.

"I'm not sure, I only glanced at the percentage twice, but it's just stuck." Shiro hastily explained as Coran messed with the settings on the pod. Speaking of Coran, he looked 10 times worse than any of the others, almost as bad as Keith did. It was as if he aged another 20 years.

"The pod may have found something it can't heal. Instead, it might do more damage if we leave him in there any longer." Coran sounded pained as he spoke.

"There's nothing the pods can't heal," Allura pressed, but glared at Keith, "Unless, there was magic used. Specifically, Galra magic."

Anger coursed through Keith's body. Next thing he knew, he was nose-to-nose with her with his back facing the healing pod. "I would  _never_  hurt Lance. Don't you ever-" Keith scowled as he was pushed back by Shiro. He was also glad as he was about to give the princess a broken nose.

"Keith! If you really want Lance to be okay, we're going to have to focus," Shiro said attempting to pull Keith back, but he stood firmly.

Keith glared at Allura, but the intensity faded. His breath suddenly became labored and he stumbled to his feet. Pain flared from every part of his body. "Ah." He groaned, clenching his hands onto his face. A gasp emitted from both Allura and Shiro. Keith took his hands away and knew why. In his fit of rage, his Galra side took over. Purple fur spread across his skin and his nails grew into claws. He felt it as it spread across his body like a disease. He tried to reverse it, but it stopped only short of his neck. Still, it inched slowly to cover the rest of his face. The pain was getting to be too much. Keith looked up at his friends for help, but was mortified by what he saw. 

Allura no longer looked mad. Instead, it was replaced with  _fear_. Keith looked at Shiro, he was just as taken aback, but he didn't look scared, yet. He reached out to Keith, but instinctively, Keith flinched, remembering the multitude of tests and... other things that had occurred the past handful of days. The fur spread even further, and his vision in his left eye sharpened.

"Hey, Keith," Shiro said calmly.  Keith suddenly growled in a mixture of fear and anger as Shiro tried touching him again. For a brief moment, Shiro's hand glowed purple. It was only a subconscious reaction, but it made Keith feel terrible. His heart plummeted and wrenched in pain.  _They were all scared_. His emotions were beginning to build and the curse Myble cast on Keith still faintly lingered and was beginning to take over again. 

Suddenly, a voice behind him croaked, "What happened? Did the Galra ambush us?" Keith heard him pause, finally aware of the scene before him. "Mullet? What're you doing?" 

A bloodthirsty grin split across his face as his Galra side won over. Keith then knew he lost control of his body, turning towards the person that meant the most to him. And as he turned around, that's when all Hell broke loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap!! Before you get mad, there will be a sequel and it will fill in the holes that are left in here. I planned this all to be in one book, but it just didn't fit all that well so I decided to split it in half. But I hope you liked it! I know it isn't the best, but I'm sure as I continue, I will improve. I am absolutely terrible with endings so I apologize for that promptly. I do want to do a Q&A chapter though (my answers will be on the original on Wattpad). So leave some questions if you'd like to. 
> 
> Thank you so much if you have read this fic all the way to this point! I never imagined for it to do this well as this is the first thing I've ever written and it makes me excited to continue with it. Also, if you ever say anything or draw anything for this (though I doubt it will happen) please tag me!! My Instagram and Tumblr are in my bio. 
> 
> I am also sorry for the wait and how this probably won't satisfy that much, but a lot of stuff occurred that took up my time. However, I am hopefully writing more with this upcoming break. So, I should get more chapters out. Thanks again!! <3


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